


Trading Yesterday

by kanna37



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:13:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanna37/pseuds/kanna37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forced back to Tokyo by her estranged husband's demands, Kagome vows to fight whatever his game is until the month he'd insisted on was up and she could go back to Auckland. But Sesshoumaru wasn't about to let his runaway bride get away again - for his own reasons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kagome sighed tiredly as she unlocked the door to the apartment she shared with her best friend, then knocked loudly as she walked in so her roommate was warned that she was back.

“That you, Kagome?” her roommate called as she stepped inside. Sango was her best friend – a rather dangerous woman when needed, she didn't put up with any male bullying her... or Kagome, either. The young woman had learned a lot about independence and strength of will from her friend. They were lessons she'd sorely needed when they'd first met. “Want some coffee?”

She admired Sango greatly.

“Hai,” she called back, “and yes, please!” The thought of coffee was a definite mood booster. It had been a _long_ day.

It looked as though it was going to get even longer before it was through, too, she acknowledged with another sigh.

She flipped through the mail laid neatly out on the little table in the foyer, looking for the one in particular that Sango had made mention of when she'd called her earlier - 'something difficult and official looking' from Tokyo.

_Sesshoumaru._

Moving into the small living room she set her bag down and, with trembling fingers, neatly slit open the letter addressed to her in an elegant, spare hand. She wasn't looking forward to reading what it contained...

Five minutes later she was still reading it, a deep frown creasing her brow as she struggled to take in what it was telling her while remaining calm. Sango frowned in turn as she entered the room with two mugs of coffee and took note of her best friend's expression.

“Bad news?” she asked, concerned. Kagome didn't often frown, and when she did it was serious.

“You could say that,” she said slowly, still perusing the letter and answering abstractedly. “Sesshoumaru won't release my money to me unless I go see him in person, first.” She sounded frustrated. “I need that money and he knows it. He can make me pretty much dance to his tune anytime he wants by holding my inheritance from me.”

Sango looked confused. “I thought your lawyer was named Kouga? Isn't he in charge of your money?”

Kagome looked tired in that moment and Sango had a feeling that things for her friend were about to get very, very difficult.

“Sesshoumaru is my husband,” she said, and the young woman's mouth fell open. “He controls all my monies until I'm twenty-five. Two years from now.”

“Husband? You're not married! I met you the same day you arrived here from Tokyo, the day you turned eighteen – and you haven't married any of the local wildlife, so...” she trailed off with an expression of concern – and more than a little confusion.

Grabbing her mug of coffee and taking a sip, she sighed. “I was seventeen when I was married to Sesshoumaru.”

“ _Seventeen?!”_ Sango was horrified; her eyes opened as wide as they could go and she blanched. She stared at her friend for several moments and then sat up; clapping determined hands together, she said, “Right. Start talking.”

“I suppose I could discuss it.”

“Suppose? Gee, don't sound too enthusiastic. What in the hell possessed you to marry someone while still a _schoolgirl_?”

“I wasn't given a choice, really. My father had just died and I had no other close family. The only other choice of person for me to stay with would have been my distant cousin Kikyou – and she would only have done it to gain access to my inheritance. You've met Kikyou-” matching dirty looks crossed both girl's faces at mention of that name, “-so you know how much of a choice that was. Father was friends with Sesshoumaru and his father – he's youkai – and trusted him to take care of me. Not to mention some of my inheritance was tied up with their fortunes, as most of my shares in stock were in their companies. Apparently, before father had died he had spoken to Sesshoumaru about taking me as his wife for my protection, supposedly. To keep any smooth talker from coming and getting me to marry them so they could get their hands on my money,” she trailed off, swirling the coffee in her mug absently as she spoke.

Sango shook her head, thinking that it all sounded so barbaric and heavy-handed. To marry your daughter off to a much older man, just so no one else could get her money? He could have just been named her guardian, with the ruling that she wasn't allowed to retain her money until a certain more mature age, as it appeared they had done. And even maybe with a provision that a potential husband had to be screened, just to make sure. She could see that. But this? Something didn't sound right to her...

“I don't know,” she finally sighed. “Something about all that doesn't sound on the level, girl. There were other ways to keep your money safe, even if you'd turned out to be one of those silly fools that fall for every good-looking bad man out there. I guess it just seems odd... I mean, what did this Sesshoumaru get out of this? Not too many men are that altruistic to marry a young girl like that and not benefit in some way out of it.”

“Oh, he gained something, all right. He needed someone to keep the women off of him. You see, he's quite handsome, beautiful really, and while he enjoyed 'sowing his oats-” her expression going distant and grim, “-he didn't want to be harassed about marrying any of them. Having a wife already was a good excuse.”

Her friend looked scandalized. “A lecher, eh? Sounds like another person we both know,” she frowned, it being her turn to look grim. “Wanted to play, but didn't want to pay. Lovely, Kagome. Another man without a heart.”

“Oh, no, he had a heart,” she denied her friend's allegation. “It was just that she had died. He'd been married before – he even has a daughter that's not that much younger than me. She'd been the love of his life, as his mother constantly delighted in telling me. She was perfect and elegant and always knew what to do in any situation. She had class and power – of course she was youkai, where I was just a silly human girl with some reiki that I couldn't even control. A teenager with no experience. When she died he buried his heart with her, and after that women were only good for one thing.” She sighed after a moment, then chuckled, her tone dry. “I tried so hard to be a decent wife, tried to act older than I was, but I was surrounded by much older people with a sophistication I couldn't compete with – I'd barely even lived, and until father died I'd never been away from the shrine much at all. And of course their high-society friends pulled no punches laughing at me for my so-called _husband's_ infidelities. They didn't even bother talking behind my back – they did it to my face. Finally...” she trailed off, then stopped, and shook her head. “I'd had enough, what with all that and everything else, besides, and ran. That's how I ended up here, an ex-pat Japanese girl living in New Zealand. And you know the rest of the story.”

It was a tale right out of a nightmare, and Sango was outraged. “It's those traditional men I'm so glad I've never had to deal with in living here. I might be Japanese by birth, but I just don't think I could put up with the men over there. It's the same the world over – the good old boy syndrome. That's why your father married you off to some older guy. It wasn't because he'd really be good to you and do right by you. It was because they all think that marrying you is doing right by you, no matter how badly they really treat you. As long as they feed and clothe you, you should be happy and keep your mouth shut.” She huffed. “First one tried that with me I'd lay them out.”

Her friend's black eyes flashed as she spoke; Kagome had no doubt she'd do just that, too. She would have loved to see someone do that to Sesshoumaru and any combination of his cronies, she thought, with the brittle anger that hadn't abated in the years since she'd left. It had merely eased somewhat.

And now she was going to have to return to the scene of the crime, and all because Sesshoumaru apparently felt like flexing his muscles. Why he'd never agreed to a divorce, she'd never understood. It wasn't like he needed her for any _real_ reason whatsoever.

After a bit more desultory conversation she made her excuses and went off to take a nice, long, relaxing soak, knowing she would have little relaxation for some time to come once she arrived back in Tokyo. She hadn't gone back once since she'd left, and had never intended to again. She'd figured that Sesshoumaru would simply have the divorce put through on his end, and that would be that – she would close the door on it all and chalk it up to experience.

But he never had, even though she'd finally gotten tired of waiting for him to do so after five years and written him asking him to basically get on with it. It hadn't been two weeks later that she'd been offered the chance to buy the bookstore chain she managed, and sent him a second letter requesting he release some of her funds. She'd been furious when he'd refused the divorce, citing certain mysterious reasons that he refused to divulge, but while he still controlled her money she had to dance to his tune and she'd not mentioned divorce again, instead once more asking for a certain amount of her money to be released to her. The letter she'd received today had been his answer to that request. Spend one month back in Tokyo, and then he'd give her the money. She had no choice but to agree. Once she turned twenty-five, though, and her accounts were turned over into her control she'd file for divorce herself the very next day and to hell with him and his 'reasons'.

She chuckled to herself, then. While she may have to go back to Tokyo for a time to see the bastard before he'd release the funds she needed to buy the chain she wished to, _he_ would be the one getting the surprise. Because after five years she was nothing like the frightened and socially awkward girl she'd been back then. She was a businesswoman, successful in her own right and much more experienced and worldly than she had been the last time he'd seen her– and truthfully, perhaps even a little jaded, thanks to him. The bottom line was that she was no longer anyone's fool.

That didn't mean that she was promiscuous; no, after her experiences with Sesshoumaru and his womanizing she'd remained single, in no hurry to involve herself with any male again. If he'd taught her one thing it was that the male of the species – human or youkai, it made no difference - were not to be trusted.

As the next few days passed by and she prepared herself for her unwanted trip, she worked late every night so that she could leave with no work left unfinished for her boss, the current owner of the bookstore chain she was being given the chance to buy. She wasn't about to allow Sesshoumaru's high-handed demands to inconvenience anyone else, even if they did her. She was actually pretty sure that he hadn't even realized that his insane demands _had_ inconvenienced her, not that he would care if he had realized it, but it would never occur to him that the young, lonely, and awkward girl he'd known had grown into anything useful. He probably thought she lived off of the middling allowance he sent her every month.

She didn't. Every dime he sent her went into a savings account; if this business opportunity had come along even six months later she wouldn't have had to ask Sesshoumaru to release any of her other money. She'd never used what he sent her every month like clockwork. From the moment she'd landed here in Auckland she'd found herself a job and worked her way up from there. It occurred to her to wonder what he thought of her suddenly asking for some lump sum of money to invest in a business venture. And then she laughed – he probably thought it was some gigolo that had fooled her into thinking he was a businessman, since he seemed to think she was a foolish air-head that could do no more than sit on her allowance and languish in the city waiting for some well-heeled man to pick up her tab.

_Won't he be surprised,_ she thought with heavy irony. _He thinks me as stupid as his erstwhile 'lovers'. Then again, he seems to have a low opinion of all women... except his beloved Kagura, of course. And Rin._

After he'd married her in a rather rushed and meaningless ceremony just a few days after her father's death, he'd taken her back to live at his overly large estate where his mother had moved in soon after his former wife's death to help him care for his then-young daughter, Rin. In her mind the place had been ostentatious and overdone, but that was apparently how high-society flew – she much preferred a more refined, understated tastefulness in her decor. She supposed some might call her a minimalist, but really she just wanted to be comfortable in her home, not live in a cluttered, overdone, huge mausoleum of a mansion.

But the disturbing thing about it was that the place had been kept as a shrine to his dead wife, as she found out within moments of arriving at her new – and unwanted - home. Everything was as it had been when Kagura was alive, and as she found out the hard way, _nothing_ was allowed to be changed. The only rooms that she had been allowed to decorate to her tastes had been the suite of rooms she'd been given that had been connected to his.

She frowned, setting aside the last bit of work she'd needed to finish before leaving in the morning as her mind wandered back to those nightmare months in that house. That was something she hadn't understood then, and still didn't understand to this day.

When they'd left her family's shrine after the morning marriage she'd been subjected to, she'd expected what every girl did when they were married – that he'd be collecting on his conjugal rights. She'd been horribly mortified when he'd glared haughtily at her when she'd tentatively brought it up, saying that she was just a child and he didn't sleep with children. So she'd been stunned when his mother had taken one look at her when she'd walked in the door and wrinkled her nose as though catching a whiff of something rancid, suggesting that she be put in a room in a different wing of the mansion and he'd glared the woman into submission with an almost acid dislike in his eyes, ordering that her things be placed in the rooms adjoining his.

When she'd found out initially that he had been married once before and even had a daughter, she'd been surprised and rather put off, especially when his mother began her campaign of psychological torture from the moment her son had walked her in the door, always comparing her to Kagura, to her constant detriment. It turned out that Kagura had been her goddaughter, and she'd adored the woman to the point of worship. When she'd died, she, Satori, had been as devastated as her son was, and she was aghast – and enraged – when he'd returned from a business trip with a child-bride, business partner's daughter or not and marriage of convenience notwithstanding.

It was then that she'd asked to be moved into a smaller room somewhere else in the mansion, herself, only to be angrily rebuffed by a male that was almost always cold and seemingly viciously hateful. She'd been completely stunned and even frightened when he'd turned on her and denied her request to move rooms in furious and impassioned tones she'd never heard from him until that very moment. A day or two later he'd coolly cornered her and asked why she wished to move rooms; angry, confused, frightened and miserable herself by that time, she'd answered in a curt voice that she didn't wish to live in rooms that his beloved wife had and that were still set up as a living shrine to her. He had coldly informed her that the rooms he'd shared with his dead wife had been in a different wing of the mansion, and that she could do what she wished with the rooms she was in.

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with sore fingers, her memories wearing her down. She was truly tired, and tomorrow and the next month that he was insisting she spend in Tokyo were going to be just as tiring, if not more so. He was one of the most complicated people she'd ever known, and she couldn't wait for the next month to be over. Hopefully after that he'd leave her alone and she'd never have to see him again. Finishing up her last bit of work, she let her mind continue wandering as she headed home.

Sesshoumaru was almost impossible to read. Most of the time of their year-long marriage he had been distant and cold, and there would be entire weeks on end where she wouldn't see him at all. When he did bother to show his face he could be quite mean, and there were days where she went out of her way to stay away from him herself. But then, very occasionally and confusingly, he would defend her – and when he did it he was _vicious_ about it.

Several times he'd caught his mother in some bit of cruelty towards her and he'd nearly kicked her out of his home, the row that would start from him reprimanding her for her words nearly deadly enough to bring the house down around their ears.

And then there were the parties. Kicking off her shoes as she slipped into her apartment quietly, not wanting to wake Sango, she couldn't help the tight-lipped expression that took over her normally mobile, warm features. She had hated those parties with more vehement animosity than she'd ever felt towards anything else.

Time and time again she was humiliated to the point she couldn't even speak; she'd been raised on a shrine with a father she'd loved in a distant way and a mother who she'd adored, though she'd lost her far too soon. The point was, she'd never seen anyone behave the way members of society appeared to. All too often, those who took such delight in tormenting her were to be seen in the news, smiling and trying their best to look like honorable, down-to-earth people with humble hearts and charitable natures towards their fellow man. Or youkai, as the case may be.

And all of it was nothing but lies. All of them were nasty, petty, bitter, haughty and narrow-minded people that enjoyed bullying an innocent seventeen year old girl, making her life so miserable that it finally came down to fight or flight. She'd chosen flight. It was the only way for her to survive.

She'd never forget the smirks, the superior looks and the cruel laughter from the crimson-painted lips of the women, the talk of her husband's newest flavor-of-the-week. And even though her marriage wasn't a normal marriage in the traditional sense, she couldn't help but think that if he was going to play a male whore, he could at least have been a bit more discreet about it – or at least not forced her to attend those stupid parties, where he would abandon her the moment they walked in to go talk business with the men – or disappear into some back room or pool house with the current piece of ass.

And as yet another bitch would stalk her to needle her some more, her bitterness would begin to peak – and then he'd appear, apparently feeling magnanimous after getting laid while everyone drank and gossiped and she hid as best she could in a dark corner, and turn her world upside down by confronting whichever bitch it happened to be at that particular party and biting her head off. Then he would sweep her home and let her cry her frustrated rage and hurt and humiliation out on him. He'd force her to, actually, pulling her to him and rocking her a little until it would all burst out of her, and he would even take her bitter, angry and hateful words about himself and simply say nothing, thrumming some soothing cadence from his chest to calm her down. How ironic to be comforted by the cause of your pain. It was as hypocritical as a medieval torturer taking his victim off the rack and then holding them and soothing them and acting sympathetic to their agony.

Eyes shadowed, she quietly shut the door to her room and immediately began to undress. She needed as much sleep as she could get before having to go back to the scene of her hellish fake marriage and face her chief tormenter.

This time, though, they would be on even ground. She was no longer a sheltered teenager with no experience or class.

And by the time he was through playing whatever game it was that he was playing this time, she'd walk away from him just as coolly as she'd walk towards him tomorrow evening when he arrived at the airport to pick her up.

He would be the one left grasping for balance on uneven ground, not her.

With that pleasant thought warming her she rolled herself into her blanket and drifted off to sleep.

~oOo~

Sighing with a touch of nostalgic sadness, Kagome looked out the window of the plane at the city of Tokyo, not realizing how much she'd missed it until just this very moment. Despite the cruel and mocking high society people she'd been forced to deal with after her marriage, she'd been happy when younger – just another average schoolgirl living on one of Tokyo's more well-known shrines. Her family had tended that shrine for generations, and she'd been proud of that, planning on continuing that tradition when she grew into the fullness of her reiki and her stature as an adult.

But then her father had died and her world had been upended in the most vicious and painful way, leaving her living in a hell she'd had no way of coping with. She still didn't understand her erstwhile 'husband's' actions at all during that horrible year – or the fact that he still refused to give her the divorce she'd asked for.

Eyes pensive as the plane came in for a landing, all those painful memories came flooding back over her again – as well as the humiliating and rending truth that she'd hidden from everyone and even from herself for so long – that the reason she'd tried so hard to grow up fast in the beginning of her marriage and become just like his dead wife was because she'd been bowled over by the beautiful youkai she'd been married to – and had fallen hard with her seventeen year old innocent teenager's heart.

Her lips twisted bitterly at that thought – he'd certainly managed to turn that innocent love into hatred and fear. After all this time that hatred had softened to cool dislike and mistrust – but she sighed again with the knowledge that it wouldn't take much to revive that hatred. He'd just done too much damage, and she grimaced with the silent admittance that some of that bitterness was aimed at her father – he had to have known what his friend and business partner was like and yet he'd basically thrown her to the proverbial wolf – and all just because he didn't want some gigolo to get his hands on the money he was leaving behind?

The plane landed with a jolt which drew her attention back to her surroundings, and firmly putting that past away and locking it up in a dark corner of her mind, she drew her usual cool poise around her like armor and checked her watch.

_Right on time,_ she thought with satisfaction. _Sesshoumaru was always such a stickler for being on time, so that's one less thing he will be able to look down on me for._

She wasted no time on disembarking; heading directly for baggage claim she took hers as soon as they arrived and headed for a restroom for a quick chance to refresh her hair and light makeup and to make sure her clothes weren't too wrinkled. She could not afford to give the bastard any ground, anything that he could use against her in any way.

A few minutes later, satisfied that she still looked professional and collected, she left the restrooms and headed for the airport coffee shop where he was supposed to meet her. Fortunately, the shop was not overly crowded at this time of night and she was able to get herself a drink and find a seat to await Sesshoumaru's arrival.

After about ten minutes with no Sesshoumaru in sight, she looked at her watch again and her brow rose – the male who was always so adamant about arriving at precisely the time he'd given... was late. _So after demanding my presence in a high handed and haughty manner, he can't even have the courtesy to arrive on time?_

Firmly putting the arrogant son of a bitch out of her mind before she could get angry all over again she sat back, crossing her long, slim legs and delicately picking up her cup to take a careful sip of her hot tea. Her attention was drawn by a young couple, obviously weary from travel and needing a pick-me-up – she watched as the man carefully assisted his tired significant other to a seat and then took her order before shuffling tiredly up to the counter to place said order.

_Lucky woman,_ she thought... but only for a moment, and then her hard-won cynicism caught up with her and she dismissed the thought. _Enjoy it while you can, because sooner or later things will change. Males aren't to be trusted – because one day they'll turn on you and you won't know what hit you._

“Kagome,” a well-remembered smooth baritone murmured just at that point, and with firm control she turned to look coolly up at the male that had so cruelly ruined her younger years.

Her heart skipped a beat painfully as she took him in; in that moment she was glad that she'd learned to control her reiki, because she was able to hide those little indicators of stress from the arrogant beast that was standing before her with an odd little half-smile on his elegant face.

“Sesshoumaru,” she acknowledged just as smoothly, once again checking her watch – this time with a pointedly cocked brow at his late entrance.

“I had something that I couldn't get away from,” he said, openly looking her over as she stood and reached for her baggage cart.

She shot him an amused glance at that. “Or is that some _one_?” she rebutted lightly, ignoring his proffered hand and pulling her own cart behind her as he turned with an ironic little incline of his head and began to lead the way out of the shop.

“Are you insinuating something, my dear, long-lost wife?”

“Come on, Sesshoumaru, I haven't forgotten what you're like. There is _always_ a someone with you.”

“Jealous?” he asked.

She laughed outright. “Not hardly. And we both know that I'm not really your wife, so please, don't bother with playing the devoted husband. It's not as if I'm still a child-bride with wide eyes and an innocent view of the world. The niceties coming from you never meant anything much, anyway,” she dismissed derisively.

Not looking at him, she missed the angry flash of cat-slit golden eyes as she followed him absently through the airport parking garage to his car. “It seems you've grown some fangs since you've been gone, Kagome,” he said, his voice dangerously soft; where once she would have instantly been drenched in fear, knowing what that softness presaged, now she simply wasn't impressed.

“It had to happen sometime,” she shrugged carelessly, coming to a stop behind him as he used his keyfob to open the trunk of the expensive car he owned. Once again ignoring his silent attempt to lift her luggage into the trunk, she loaded her own things and then stepped back to wait for him to close it.

He did so, and then simply looked at her through hooded eyes for a long moment. “How independent you've become, little girl – it seems you've done quite a bit of growing up down there in Auckland. One wonders how many teachers you've had,” he said insinuatingly.

Eyes going coldly amused, she flicked dismissive fingers at him. “I don't need a man to teach me anything. Whatever poise and professionalism I've gained since I've been away from Tokyo was learned the hard way – the _right_ way. Now, are we going to stand here in a parking garage and try to slice each other to little pieces with soft insinuations and cutting insults, or are we going to get a move on? It has, after all, been a long day, and I would like to find my bed.”

At that, a dangerous smirk twisted his firmly molded and aristocratic lips. Even as he unlocked the doors with another press of a button, he shot her a rather lascivious look through suddenly hot eyes. “Already speaking of beds, are we, Kagome? Is that a Freudian slip? If so, I would not be averse to you finding _my_ bed.”

That was just too much for Kagome; eyes going flatly angry as she climbed into the passenger side, she turned to look at him as he slid into the seat beside her. “I'm not here to play games with you, Sesshoumaru. Have you already worked through every female – available or not – here in Tokyo? Trust me when I say that your bed is one place I have absolutely _no_ ambition of visiting – I'm no notch on any male's headboard. I have much, much more class than any of these females flaunting their wares on the society scene here in Tokyo – and no man can buy me,” she finished, her eyes flashing warningly at the fascinated male beside her.

The car remained silent for a few minutes as he started it and backed out of the space he'd taken before smoothly shifting into drive and accelerating through the garage to the entrance. Flicking his turn signal on carelessly at the stop sign, he merged easily with traffic and began heading for the outskirts with practiced ease.

Once they were on the expressway, he spoke, his voice coldly authoritarian – the wealthy businessman and aristocrat had come to the surface. “What is it that you needed the money you requested for? Some shady 'business deal' a sly gigolo has convinced you is your ticket to the easy life?”

“You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, Sesshoumaru?” she asked, her voice just as coldly businesslike as his own. “If you must know, I have been offered the chance to buy a bookstore chain in Auckland.”

“And have you even seen any proof that this bookstore chain exists other than on paper?”

“Why yes,” she murmured poisonously sweetly, “I have. Every day that I go to work as the manager of said bookstore chain. It is quite a lucrative business, and has always operated in the black. Anything else you wish to insinuate about my intelligence level, hmm?”

He shot her a surprised look beneath lowered brows. “You... work?”

Her mouth tightened at his obvious surprise. “That surprises you, doesn't it? I'm not some wastrel female hanging on a rich husband to avoid doing so. I _have_ worked since the day I landed in Auckland five years ago after leaving you and this false and hateful city,” she snapped, her temper heating once again.

He frowned, his eyes narrowing moodily in the low light of the car's instrument panel. “What have you done with the money I have been sending you every month?”

“Nothing,” she replied flatly. “I have never used a dime of your conscience money. It's all sitting in the same account you have insisted on wiring it into for the past five years. From what I understand it's actually a tidy little sum now – not that it matters. And if this business offer had come just a few months later I wouldn't have even needed to contact you at all. If it would have given me the ability to avoid having to communicate with you, and even better avoid having to see you, I would have gone ahead and used it and you could have just taken it out of the funds that father left me. Since I really don't want your money – or anything else of yours, for that matter.”

Her answer didn't please him; it was quite clear from the low growl it ripped from his throat.

Kagome really didn't care.

“Do you hate me so much?” he asked after a moment to get his own temper under control.

“Hate you?” she murmured after a moment. “No. I don't hate you. I don't feel anything for you at all except irritation that you have refused my request for a divorce.”

“And I will keep doing so,” he shot at her, his eyes flaring redly for a moment.

His temper rising cooled her own, and she shrugged. “Whatever,” she replied. “In two more years you won't have a choice – I reach my majority and my money reverts into my hands. Make no mistake – the very next day I will file for divorce myself.”

“Make no mistake,” he parodied her with a growl, “I will fight you every step of the way – which means it would take another five years to get your divorce.”

Frustrated with his intransigence on this subject, her voice rose sharply in the enclosed space. “Why are you so determined to keep a fake wife that doesn't even live in the same country as you do?!”

And that's when all her nightmares came to life as he said coolly, “Because this month I have demanded you spend here is to effect a reconciliation.” He shot her a determined look out of hotly burning golden eyes. “You won't be going back to Auckland again, Kagome – it's time you came home – I've been as patient with you as I intend to be. Your days of freedom are over.”

~oOo~

A/N: And welcome to my new Sess/Kag, everyone. Please be patient with me as I try to catch up on a year and a half of writer's block! I only have the next chapter written and no further, so this might move a teeny bit slowly at first.

Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy it, since it is an odd departure for me. I'm not much usually for modern day A/U stuff, since I live in this world and it sucks. I like to keep my fantasy world just that, lol, not anything based out of this reality. But this was just begging to be written, so I finally obliged.

Amber


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome woke slowly, almost unwilling to leave her dream world behind only to return to a real world that had instantly become her idea of hell - what with Sesshoumaru's revelation of his reasons for demanding she return to Tokyo.

_Effect a reconciliation? How can you 'reconcile' a marriage that was only ever in name only? Who the hell does he think he's fooling?_ She shook her head, her eyes narrowing as she rubbed the sleep out of them and sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. _There has to be something else going on. It's not like we were ever a couple._ _"_ Maybe one of his plethora of women has gotten out of hand and is demanding marriage, and since he's already technically married, flaunting me under the woman's nose is his response?" she murmured, but then shook her head again in frustration. No... Sesshoumaru wasn't the type to ever respond to anyone's 'demands', so that scenario made no sense.

"So what could it be?" she wondered aloud, seriously frustrated and terribly angry that he had the nerve to demand such a thing from her. She wasn't in any way his fool; she was absolutely positive he hadn't spent the last five years celibate and longing for her. No... he probably had a bitch of the week right this very minute. His words just made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

With a small, irate growl she pushed the blankets aside and climbed from the bed to head for the shower, knowing that the bastard would soon be arriving to begin his annoyance of her and wanting to be fully armored against him. She glanced around her at the rooms she was in with a slight frown and a bit of a shudder; they were the same rooms she'd been given when she'd first been forced to move into this mansion, and it looked as if nothing had been touched since the day she'd left other than to be cleaned.

The closets were even still full of all her old clothes, which she found oddly creepy – it was like this room had been left as a shrine to her, and she didn't like how that thought made her feel. This mansion already had a shrine to someone, and it still felt and looked like a mausoleum. She wanted no part of it and didn't want _it_ to have any part of her, as odd as that might sound to someone not in the know.

She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face at sight of the bathroom, however; it was the one place in this moldy old pile that she'd loved and she was more than willing to take advantage of it during her forced time here.

_It doesn't matter what Sesshoumaru's angle is in trying to 'effect a reconciliation',_ she thought with a snort as the hot streams of water began hitting her back, soothing her tense muscles.  _He can try all he wants – but he can't force me to stay with him, and I'll hold him to his words – once this month is up I'm gone._

Feeling much better after her shower, Kagome picked out a casual yet elegant dress from the clothes she'd packed and dressed carefully, the blue-green colors of the flowing material suiting her coloring and bringing out the blue of her eyes and making them sparkle. Slipping her tiny feet into a pair of matching sandals and pairing the outfit with her favorite opal earrings and ring, she left the room and closed the door, pausing for a moment as she tried to remember which way would take her to the kitchen – she was a bit hungry and a cup of coffee would be most appreciated, as well.

With a shrug, unable to remember for sure which way she needed to go she finally chose a direction and headed down the hallway, knowing that sooner or later she would either find her way or run into one of the servants and could then simply ask for directions. While the mansion was undoubtedly worth a great deal of money and was nice enough, Kagome wasn't impressed. It was pretentious and a waste, as far as she was concerned. After all, why would Sesshoumaru, his mother, and Rin need such a huge place to live?

She personally preferred a smaller, more intimate and comfortable home – something that was a true home and not just a showcase for a person's wealth. She just wasn't one to flaunt her assets – any of them.

It took a few minutes but she finally found the kitchen, with the cook already ensconced within and making coffee cake that smelled delicious to Kagome's suddenly starved pleasure. She was a friendly but efficient woman, and it wasn't long before she was sitting along the kitchen bar, sipping her coffee and trying out a piece of that wonderful smelling breakfast pastry, chatting amiably all the while.

The easy atmosphere was ruined, however, when the aura of the second person that lived in this mansion and had ruined Kagome's life the first time around entered the kitchen with her nose in the air and a click of her heels.

Kagome watched evenly as the woman stopped at sight of her and her lips tightened. "So the fool has managed to entice you to return, has he?" she said, her expression one of spoiled dissatisfaction as she looked her up and down. "I see you've been spending your allowance well, at least – I never thought I'd see the day you learned to dress correctly."

A faint, amused smile tilted Kagome's lips. "Allowance? You have the same blinders on that your son did. I haven't touched one drop of that allotment, it's still sitting in the bank. I work for my income, thank you very much."

Satori smiled condescendingly. "I somehow doubt that a waitress' salary could have afforded that dress," she returned, looking down her nose at the girl that her son had dared to replace Kagura with. She'd never understood why and Sesshoumaru had always refused to discuss the matter with her.

A chuckle left Kagome's lips. "I'm sure it would be out of reach for a waitress," she said dismissively, picking up her cup of coffee and thanking the cook for the food and conversation. Just as she was about to leave the room - a narrowly glaring Satori staring her way - Sesshoumaru stepped through the door, looking first at Kagome in her lovely summery dress and then at his sour-faced parent.

"Mother," he said, his voice cold and heavy with warning, "you had best keep your claws sheathed and out of Kagome, are we clear?"

Before the other woman could say anything Kagome laughed nonchalantly and continued on out of the room with an inward sigh for the drama being played out in front of the cook. "I don't need you to rescue me from your mother, Sesshoumaru. I can take care of myself quite well. An embittered, soured, and unhappy female who feels the need to assert her standing with everyone around her by being snide and bitchy is of little concern to me, after all," she finished, paying no heed to the gasp of outrage from Satori, or the surprise in her erstwhile husband's gaze. Without paying one bit more attention to either of them she stepped outside onto the patio and looked over the grounds.

The gardens were still the same, still immaculate and extensive, and Kagome decided to go for a walk through them with the idea that the more she could avoid the unhappy people living in this place the easier this whole mess would be. If she could avoid Sesshoumaru's company for most of the next month then she could get back on a plane and go back home to Auckland and file this whole thing away - and never think about it again.

~oOo~

"Kagome."

The young woman stiffened for a brief moment as she heard the voice of her worst nightmare, then continued to sniff the rose she'd been drawn to as though she weren't bothered by his presence. She'd managed to spend most of the morning outside and away from the rest of the people around here, and it was getting close to noon already, she was surprised to find. It was just too bad Sesshoumaru was here now to annoy her and ruin her momentary peace.

"Yes?" she asked pointedly after a moment when he didn't speak.

"We have a party to attend this evening after an early dinner, so you should head back to the house and get a nap in before it's time to get ready, because it will be a late night," he responded with a cynical twist to his lips that Kagome could hear in his voice.

She shuddered inwardly, but outwardly she just chuckled as she stood up and turned to meet Sesshoumaru's gaze. "Another party? Don't you ever get tired of them? I'd think by now you'd have become bored with chasing the bitch of the week through yet another pointless get together." She sighed lightly and shook her head. "Do I really have to go? It's not like you actually need me there – after all, I'm sure you've attended plenty of these parties since I've been gone. I'd much prefer to spend my time in the gardens – at least here I can still exercise my mind."

Sesshoumaru's lips twisted further into a sharp smirk. "Did you really think I would let you hide here in the gardens for the entire month, my dear? While I'm sure you would prefer it," he mocked, "that doesn't suit my ends at all – and since it's my ends that count you'll just have to deal, my lovely little wife." He paused, and then said, "And as for your little dig about chasing some bitch, you should watch what you say... you might just start sounding jealous."

Kagome's eyes hardened. "Not hardly. I could care less what you do – in fact, if you're busy chasing some other woman you can hardly be trying to shove this farcical 'reconciliation' idea of yours down my throat. So please, be my guest," she shot back.

"Farcical?" he murmured questioningly, one elegant black brow cocked haughtily. And then he chuckled. "Do not delude yourself, Kagome. There is nothing farcical about this. It will happen, so you had best accustom yourself to the idea, and quickly, my love," he said tauntingly, his eyes going heavy-lidded as he looked the bristling woman in front of him over with hot eyes, "for I don't intend to wait for very much longer to collect on my long-overdue 'wedding night'."

And for the second time in less than twenty-four hours Kagome stared at her nemesis with shock, her aghast and horrified eyes seeming to almost amuse him.

~oOo~

_Wedding night. Huh. As if I'd ever let someone who's the male equivalent of a whore touch me!_

Kagome was fuming. Sesshoumaru's suggestive statement and hint towards the fact that they'd never consummated their marriage and that he was intending to 'remedy' that particular oversight simply enraged her. And embarrassed her a little bit, too. Because there was no denying the crush she'd had on the bastard back then, and that she'd been expecting him to demand his conjugal rights made her blush like hell now that she was looking back at the incident from several years and much maturity away.

Her anger rose even further as her memories took her back through that humiliating night when she'd dared to bring the matter up and he'd practically laughed at her with such contempt on his face while letting her know in no uncertain terms that he had no intentions of touching a child. He'd acted as though she disgusted him, and that night had made such an impression on her that she'd not allowed another male to get anywhere close to her in all the years since. Trust towards the male of the species, human or youkai was not something she had any longer, and after Sesshoumaru's treatment of her she didn't miss that commodity at all.

She'd only been seventeen when he'd wed her and a complete innocent, but she'd learned that very night that he was a cold, unfeeling bastard that was only fulfilling his need to gain more wealth. By marrying her he took control of her fortune, and that ostensibly left her at his mercy.

Unfortunately he didn't have any, as she'd found out the hard way over the next nightmarish months.

So how dare he now act as though she were a runaway bride and he'd treated her with patience and kindness while waiting for her to return – to act like they had been a true couple and it had been her own doubts and fears that had interrupted what their new lives together should have been? She hadn't been the one constantly hurting and humiliating him by running around with other men! And she certainly hadn't been the one allowing a bunch of vicious, shallow hypocrites to torture him over the matter, either! Just who did he think he was to treat her that way and then expect her to run into his arms just because he'd decided he needed her around for some damn reason he wouldn't even speak of?

Well, he was in for a big surprise, she huffed to herself as she readied herself for this 'party' he was about to subject her to. And she could just bet that those same vultures that had so enjoyed tormenting her those few short years ago would be quite eager to try the same things when she appeared at this function at Sesshoumaru's side. They were all in for big surprises, because she wasn't that same frightened and intimidated young girl she'd been before.

Now she could hold her own – in fact, she would conquer their spite and turn all their bitter nastiness right back around on them.

She wasn't anybody's whipping boy anymore.

It was time to turn the tables and show them what she was made of – and that included that damned arrogant daiyoukai she'd been forced to marry.

~oOo~

Grimly determined to impress on everyone that had ever dared to lash out at her and gorge themselves on her pain and humiliation that she was no longer anyone's fool, Kagome readied herself for the get-together she was being ordered to attend with a vicious grin as she finished brushing her lips with a light gloss of color and set the tube aside to look herself over with a satisfied nod.

Make-up finished, she twisted her hair into several positions looking for a complimentary style. After a few different ones she decided on an elegant braided bun, with a lock of hair being left loose to frame her delicate face on each side and a whisp of bangs completing the look.

Blue eyes framed by a sweep of black eyeliner met their twins in the mirror with a pleased smirk. "Those bastards won't know what hit them," she swore. "And Sesshoumaru most of all. I don't know what his game is, but I'm going to win it. And this is just the start. When this next month is up he'll be glad to let me go." She nodded to herself firmly and then turned away and picked up her dress from where she'd laid it out.

An elegant little black dress, it could be dressed up or down. She loved its simple classiness, and when she slipped it on she couldn't help the smirk widening into a smile of satisfaction as it flowed into place just perfectly. She smoothed the mid-thigh hem against the silky skin of her leg and then looked around for her heels.

Slipping her shoes on, Kagome stepped lightly over to her jewelry box and opened it reverently. There wasn't much inside the large box yet, but the pieces that were there had been chosen by her with much care, every gem inside real and worth quite a bit of money. Gently she withdrew the brilliant sapphire pendant, ring, and matching earrings.

They had been chosen specifically because they were almost perfect matches for her eyes. A bright, brilliant blue with no gray to dull them, they were probably her most beautiful feature. Ringed by inky lashes and lined with kohl, those eyes were made even brighter by the contrast with the uncompromising black.

She grinned when she looked in the mirror at the finished product, more than pleased. She was going to knock a lot of people off their pedestals this evening. She glanced behind into the bedroom at the clock, wondering at the time - it felt like they should be due to leave soon. For some reason Sesshoumaru wanted to have an early dinner at one of his pretentious clubs before heading for the party that would already be in full swing by the time he intended to arrive.

_He always was a drama queen_ _,_ she thought with irreverent amusement at his sometimes almost prissy ways. The male couldn't ever just arrive somewhere quietly - no, he always had to make an entrance, which usually meant being late.

With a deep inhale of breath to fortify herself for the difficult evening to come she picked up her matching clutch, opened her door and stepped out of her room, this time turning right to head for the grand staircase that led to the front entrance of the house. She truly hoped the bastard was waiting there in the two story entrance for her - she'd certainly give him something to remember if he was.

_Yes!_ she thought triumphantly as she rounded the corner of the hall leading to the stairs. Sesshoumaru was standing at the bottom looking at his watch a little impatiently. Deliberately making a little noise she walked gracefully to the top of the stairs and then with a casual elegance she hadn't been capable of the last time he'd seen her come down said stairs she walked lightly down the steps, one hand sliding along the banister as she descended. Her head was held high and proud in a manner he'd never seen from her until he'd walked into that airport coffee shop and there she was.

And despite the fact that her heart thumped just a little when she saw him, his fair beauty not having changed a whit in the last five years and only accentuated by the easy way he wore his slightly dressed down suit, she was pleased with the look on his face - he was staring at her enigmatically, but she knew him well enough to know that look on his face meant he was trying very hard to hide something.

That meant that she'd succeeded in stunning him with the fullness of her transformation from the frightened child-bride of five years ago to the capable, worldly, and strong adult she now was.

"So where are we going for this early dinner you informed me I had to attend?" she asked lightly as she stepped down onto the marble of the entrance hall floors and stopped before the daiyoukai. "Didn't you say it was one of your clubs?"

Sesshoumaru turned to pick up her coat from where the servant had left it but was beaten to it by Kagome as she completely ignored his outstretched hand and lifted it, sliding her arms into its soft but elegant warmth without his assistance. As soon as the coat was on she was moving towards the door as though she'd forgotten about him. His mouth turned down as she paused and looked back with an arched brow when he didn't immediately crowd her.

"Cat got your tongue, Sesshoumaru?" she prodded with a slightly smug smile before continuing on her way without waiting for him.

"Just a little surprised at your lack of manners," he shot at her as they reached the door and it was opened by the butler. He motioned mockingly to the car waiting for them, and Kagome smiled coolly at him and stepped over to the passenger side. However, before she could open her own door Sesshoumaru did, with a smile full of irony at her displeased expression.

After an explosive moment she slid into the seat without argument. When he shut the door and then rounded the car to get in on the driver's side Kagome answered his previous assertion. "Lack of manners?" she chuckled dryly. "Is that the best you've got? Don't strain yourself, Sesshoumaru," she finally said dismissively at his continued silence. "We both know a gentleman isn't something you are - it's just a facade you play with in the public eye once in a while to make it look good. I don't really expect anything much since I know the real you, so you may as well not bother trying so hard to impress when I'm the only one around. Wait to start your act until we're in front of those who live the same lie you do in front of the world everyday."

There was a dangerous moment as Sesshoumaru maneuvered the car down the long driveway with an expert hand, one that truthfully had Kagome on high alert - not that she'd ever give the bastard the satisfaction of knowing that. She waited on pins and needles for his response, hating the whole situation but having no choice but to play along.

"You've grown sharp little claws since you've been away, kitten," he finally said silkily as he glanced at her from the corner of one eye before turning his gaze back to the road. "But you're making a big mistake if you think a sharp tongue will keep me from getting what I want from you. I've had centuries to perfect my skills, and you, my dear, haven't had nearly as long to grow. You have no hope of escaping me, so you may as well give in to what I want. It would be much less stressful for you than trying for the impossible in what would be nothing but a losing battle for you," he finished condescendingly.

That sparked a bit of her temper; pink light glowing from her eyes as her reiko reacted to her anger she turned on him and let him have it with both barrels. "Despite your over-sized ego, Sesshoumaru," she spat, "you'll be the one on the losing end of everything if you insist on playing this stupid and pointless one-upmanship game with me. Never again will I allow you to put me in the positions you did before, always dancing to your tune. I'm not a frightened child missing her home and simple life any longer - I've been through the fire and it tempered me and forced me to grow up. So if you don't like what you're seeing then that's just too bad - because it was you that made me this way."

"Hn-" he began, only to be snubbed as she turned her head away to look out the darkened window of the car, her eyes going far away, back into the past that she remembered far too well. "You were the fire, you bastard," she breathed into the electric silence that had fallen with her refusal to look at him and deliberate rebuff. "And it's far too late to go back now and try to convince me that you really are a nice guy that just made a lot of mistakes and that I should give you a second chance. It's never going to happen."

"Never say never, Kagome... you should know that by now," he rejoined evenly. "And if you think telling me that I had a hand in creating the sophisticated and beautiful creature you've become is an insult, think again," he added with a self-satisfied chuckle. "I'm proud to have helped form something so stunning."

She narrowed her eyes on him, then looked away. "You would be, but believe me, it _wasn't_  a compliment," she said dismissively as she turned pointedly away and stared silently out her window again. She was determined to ignore him as much as possible for the rest of the night, and his quietly returned, "I'm well aware of that," dropped into the silence and fell flat as she refused to be drawn into yet more verbal warfare and sniping before she had to be.

There was no doubt in her mind that was exactly what she'd be facing sooner or later during the evening to come. If not from Sesshoumaru's mouth, then one of his various cronies and their wives and hangers-on would spit venom at her and she was more than willing to spit it right back, which wasn't something she'd known how to do five years ago. She wished she still didn't, wished that she had never learned of the hypocrisy, lies, cheating, and backstabbing that was so much a part of 'high society'. She'd much preferred the illusions of the rich and famous she'd had as a child.

They'd been so much less painful, so much prettier. _Damn, Kagome, put away the rose-colored glasses already. Haven't you had enough illusions painfully ripped away by this same bastard that sits next to you so easily as though you should welcome his presence with open arms?_

By the time Sesshoumaru murmured that they were approaching their first stop the sun was already westering towards the horizon. Her blue eyes darkened as the road they'd been following meandered through a bucolic area with neatly trimmed hedges and landscaped grounds towards a large, ostentatious-looking building set in the midst of the park-like grounds.

_They all look the same, don't they?_ she thought tiredly as the evening to come suddenly weighed heavily on her. She'd much rather be staying in for a quiet night with a good book than the horrible one ahead of her.

As soon as the car came to a stop she unlocked her door and opened it, one dangerously long leg flashing those standing around outside with a lovely view as she stepped out of the car and shut the door behind her as the valet exchanged places with Sesshoumaru and carefully drove the expensive luxury car to an easily accessible area to park it.

Kagome wasn't in the least bit surprised to find she and the daiyoukai the focus of all eyes as they walked up the carpeted entrance and then inside the building, and her tension increased as she felt her flesh crawl at some of the looks she was getting from the men.

Reluctantly allowing the hostess to take her coat and clutch, Kagome examined the interior of the building. It was beautiful, which of course was the point - everything was top of the line here, designed to make the rich snobs it was built to cater to feel like they were better than everyone else. But its beauty left her cold, and she was uninterested and unimpressed.

Sesshoumaru, watching her carefully, smiled inwardly with a great deal of jaded cynicism. No, she was not impressed with a place that most women would kill to be invited to dine in. That was one thing about Kagome - she wasn't a social butterfly like most of the women of his social strata, and she never would be, either.

"Sir, madam, if you will follow me," the maitre'd said discreetly, and Sesshoumaru nodded as he took his wife's elbow and escorted her towards their table.

"What would you like to drink, Sesshoumaru-sama?" the man asked respectfully after they were seated.

"A plum wine, I think," the elegantly dressed daiyoukai murmured. "Domestic - perhaps aged a little. For my wife as well."

The man bowed but before he could leave Kagome addressed him with a distrustful look at Sesshoumaru. While the plum wine actually sounded good, she knew better. She needed to keep her wits about her. "Iced spring water with a lemon spritzer for me, instead," she said with a smile, and the man bowed again and assured them he would soon return with menus and their drinks.

"Plum wine so early?" she asked after a moment spent looking at him quizzically.

He smiled deprecatingly. "Perhaps I need the fortification," he said with a self-mocking tone she didn't miss.

"Huh," she huffed softly. "Not likely. But if by chance you are trying to get me to become complacent and let down my guard you've got another think coming."

"And maybe I am simply trying to enjoy a peaceful evening with my wife, did you ever think of that?"

"No," Kagome instantly rejoined, "because one, we both know I've never really been your wife, and two, there's no such thing as peace when you're around."

Sesshoumaru chuckled. "You think you know me so well," he said lightly as a waiter approached with their drinks and the promised menus. He watched through lowered lids as the young man expertly set Kagome's drink before her with a bow and then turned to place a wine goblet before him. Quickly popping the cork on the bottle of expensive looking plum wine, the waiter poured out a snifter and then set the bottle near him with another bow before leaving them to look over their menus.

"So why are we really here tonight?" Kagome asked after a moment spent looking over her menu.

"Besides to eat a meal?" he asked with a knowing smirk that widened at the censorious look she shot him. "Does there need to be any particular reason?"

"There's always a reason for everything you do," she pointed out, deciding on her choice of meal and setting the menu aside as she discreetly glanced around. Eyes were still plastered to them, and Kagome didn't have to have advanced youkai hearing to know that they were the main topic of conversation, as well. She shook her head. "I get it. This was all about being seen. Your sense of the dramatic certainly hasn't faded with age."

Sesshoumaru shrugged carelessly. "It's the most practical way to announce your return. There is very little that is faster than the societal grapevine, and I don't doubt that by tomorrow the fact that my long lost wife is back will be in the society columns of every paper in Japan."

She sighed and tapped her fingers daintily against the table. "What's really going on, Sesshoumaru? After five years you suddenly remember that you're technically married and decide you might as well try being a husband out?"

"I'm well aware of what it is to be married, Kagome," he murmured coolly. "Or have your forgotten that I've been in that state before?"

Her features froze. "No, but then, as you and your mother and everyone else always pointed out, I'm not Kagura. You loved your wife, but I'm not her as evidenced by your deplorable behavior when I lived here under your so-called 'protection' before. So since everyone in Japan knows that this marriage was never a love-match like your first, there has to be an angle. There's some reason you're doing this, and I'd just like to know what it is you're using me for."

Sesshoumaru shifted in his seat, his muscles coiling and uncoiling beneath his skin in agitation. The bitch was testing and taunting him at every turn, determined not to believe one word he'd said to her. His instincts were even now screaming at him to make her submit, and he was having a hard time holding back from doing just that. This would all be so much easier if she'd been his mate as well as his wife, but she'd been too young back then for something so dangerous as mating, so he'd been forced to wait. And wait he had - for five years. But his patience had run out and he'd finally had done with the waiting, so when she'd sent him a request for access to some of her money he'd seen it as the perfect chance and closed his trap around his little runaway bride.

But now that he'd gotten her back to Japan it looked as if the hardest work was still to come - getting her to give up and give in. And so he fought his feral desires back and continued to sit at his leisure and watch her through hooded eyes, not giving away his agitation by so much as the flicker of a heavily-lashed eye.

"There is no angle, Kagome. It is simple. You are my wife, legally wedded these past five years. And now that you've grown up and are no longer that same little girl, it is time to begin living as the married woman that you are - with all that the state entails," he added in a suddenly sultry voice, and the young woman sitting across from him blinked for a moment and then cleared her throat a little awkwardly.

"And I say I don't believe you. Oh," she added at the look he shot her, "I don't doubt that you'd climb into my bed in a hurry if I offered, since you can't seem to resist climbing into any female's bed pretty much indiscriminately. But I'm  _not_ that indiscriminate, thank you very much, and it isn't going to happen. So the sooner you let me know what's really going on in that head of yours, the sooner we can get this done and go on with our separate lives."

Gold eyes glittered as he watched her with a predatory stillness that sent a shiver up Kagome's spine as soon as she spotted it. After several seconds of that intense, weighing gaze, he spoke. "Don't believe me, then," he said with a dangerously silky softness, "that will just make it easier for me to take you by surprise. But there's one thing you most definitely can believe - there are no more separate lives between you and I. And there never will be again."

Kagome stared at him with a faint frown in her eyes, a little uneasy with the intensity of his gaze and his insistence that there was no hidden desire behind his demand that she accept him as her legally wedded husband, with all that entailed. But if there was no ulterior motive... no, there had to be something else going on because he'd never lost any sleep over love for her, so there was no other reason for him to keep insisting on her living with him as his wife than some business-scheme or something along those lines. Maybe she should instead be asking him how much he was going to make by playing happy houses with her.

She found she was much more comfortable with that thought than even the  _possibility_ that he was really after her for some god-forsaken reason like plain old lust.

There was no way she could handle that idea at all.

  
  


  
  


 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"So who's overly ostentatious mansion are we going to - or is it someone I don't know, someone new, perhaps?" Kagome asked lightly as they sped down the highway heading out of the city.

Sesshoumaru shot her a weighing glance from under hooded eyes, then returned his attention to the road. "The Yamashiro's. Although this is a new place; they've only lived there about a year and a half now," he replied evenly.

A pleased smile slipped across her lips, countered by an oddly cynical expression. "Ah. Well, at least I'll have something worthwhile to do while all the rest of you do whatever it is you do at these little festive get-togethers. I've no doubt that Emiko had extensive gardens put in." And then a disgusted mou crossed her face. "Then again... I'm sure if I did head for the gardens I'd be interrupting at least half a dozen trysts and I'd really rather not lose my dinner."

"Why such a terrible reaction, my dear?" Sesshoumaru asked as he smoothly switched lanes to pass a slower driver. "It's a natural pastime, don't you think?"

She looked at him aghast. "Did you really just ask me that? Seriously?!  _A natural pastime_ _?_ " She shook her head. "You're just disgusting, Sesshoumaru. Were you this awful when you were with Kagura? Fucking every female available, since it  _is_ just a pastime and doesn't mean anything?"

There was a sudden rise of youki and the daiyoukai turned reddening eyes on her. It actually took him a few moments to regain control of his throat muscles and then he said, "Never speak her name again, let alone with such a question behind it, do you hear me?" he thundered, his knuckles white with rage in the dim interior of the car.

A sharp spear of pain went through Kagome at his reaction, one she didn't understand in the least; rage followed in its wake and she latched onto it like it were a life-preserver. Rage was good, she could deal with feeling rage towards the bastard. But somewhere deep inside a tiny niggling voice wondered how it would feel to be the woman some man protected so viciously. And she couldn't help but wish for the same, though she knew she'd never have it. Because after what this bastard had done to her, she wasn't about to trust her heart to anyone. Never, ever again.

"Oh, right, I forgot - I can only keep breathing as long as I don't speak her name or say anything derogatory even peripherally about her." She rolled her eyes and waved a bored hand at him. "Whatever."

After that she refused to say anything more, turning her face pointedly away to look out the side window with distant eyes, refusing any conversational bait he tossed out. After a little while he sighed and gave up, glancing at her every once in a while with brooding eyes.

Kagome was frightfully pleased when they reached a high-end suburb and Sesshoumaru turned off onto an obviously private road that led to high, pretentious gates. The mansion that could just barely be seen at the end of the drive was lit up with lights and the party was obviously already in full swing. The gate guard cast a quick look in their direction as they came to a halt before them, and then opened the gates and motioned them through.

Nonetheless, she was also terribly keyed-up; this was it, this was where the first skirmishes against the high-society bigots that had tortured her so much was to take place. She wasn't afraid in the least, as some might surmise she would be. No... her fighting spirit was in full ascendancy now that she was a tried and tested adult, and these poor saps were about to find that out the hard way. She had the sudden urge to rub her hands together and cackle with evil glee, but with an inward giggle at what Sesshoumaru would do and say if she did she let the amusing thought slip away and calmed herself with a bit of deep breathing, instead.

She needed to be in top form tonight... the top form she'd struggled to achieve after leaving Tokyo in so many pieces she'd wondered if she'd ever be whole again. The top form she finally had achieved - a cynical, jaded, and world-weary woman who trusted almost no one. It was strange to see such an ancient sort of look in the eyes of someone so young and beautiful, and Sesshoumaru took that expression in as he got out of the car and came around to her side, the valet sliding into the seat he vacated as he waited to take the car around and park it.

His lips tightened as his gold eyes lingered over her features, though he didn't say anything, simply offering her a hand that she simply ignored as she had all his other gentlemanly gestures, climbing out on her own and looking around at the massive entryway to the showcase of a building they were getting ready to enter.

Like everything else in high society it wasn't really a house so much as a statement of just how wealthy the owners of this particular mausoleum were, and she hated it on sight - just like all the rest of them. It was pretentious and fake, exactly like the people living in it, and Kagome had no use at all for people of their type.

And she was going to prove it - she'd rock all their worlds before she was done.

She glanced back at a so-far silent Sesshoumaru and motioned for him to lead the way with a rather sarcastic expression, but when he tried to speak to her she simply ignored him and followed behind him silently as he returned her expression with a tight one of his own - that she also ignored.

Once inside, a maid stepped forward to take her coat and she slipped it off easily before Sesshoumaru could do it for her; she could tell by the thin line of his lips that her refusal of his mannerly gestures was getting to him. _Good. Let him get angry - if he tries to do anything about it he'll get the shock of his life,_ she thought with a sense of supreme satisfaction just as their hosts came into sight. A dangerous smile just tilted the edges of her lips and only widened just that little bit more when the two paused in their steps as they saw her.

It was clear from the looks on their faces that they recognized her, and as Emiko's face took on a rather superior cast Kagome held herself ready with a certain deadly stillness that the other woman was too blinded and stupid to see.

"Well, well, well, Sesshoumaru... have you gotten bored with the women here in Tokyo and gone looking for something a little less... savory? I know that sometimes men have this strange need to slum it for a while," the older woman purred as she looked Kagome over with a haughty smile. "That must be why you married her in the first place."

Sesshoumaru's face darkened but before he could say anything he was deterred by the lilting laugh from his wife. He glanced sideways at her as she shook her head, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a certain glee he was quite suddenly certain they should  _all_  be wary of.

There was one reason he'd attended this party, and one reason only - and that was to see just how Kagome handled herself with the people in his social strata. She'd already shown a marked lack of fear or even tension when dealing with him... and now he wanted to see the rest of what she'd become.

"Still just as spoiled, bitter, petulant, and bored with life as you ever were, I see," Kagome returned, though the other woman's comment had been directed at Sesshoumaru. She looked Emiko over with a cynical, rather superior smile of her own and then turned away. "What a pity," she added over her shoulder as she made her way into the room, the gaping Emiko and her husband forgotten almost as soon as she'd removed her gaze from them.

"Sesshoumaru, you'd best do something about her mouth," Emiko hissed once Kagome had disappeared into the crowd. "How dare she-!"

She was cut off as the daiyoukai raised a bored hand, his youki raising just a little as the two humans in front of him shrank back a little in fear. "You deserved it, Emiko," he said coldly. "And you aren't going to be the only one getting their just desserts, either, I don't think," he added with a definitely predatory smile.

He was so going to enjoy this...

"B-but why did you bring that woman back? She isn't part of our world - if you divorced her you could have your pick of eligible women that know the ropes and are welcome in our circles," Emiko protested.

"Yes, I'm a little curious about it, too," her husband piped up finally, looking back in the direction the gorgeous woman had disappeared. He didn't give a damn about her 'social strata' - but he certainly liked what she'd grown up to be. He could barely believe that beautiful, poised woman was the same awkward, shy, and uncertain girl Sesshoumaru had married those years ago.

Sesshoumaru was quite well aware of his host's sudden desire for his wife; he stilled, focusing solely on the human male daring to scent of lust over what belonged to him. "My reasons are my own, though they will eventually be known to all and sundry. But if you know what's good for you, you will stay away from her, Hide." He raised a hand and pointedly cracked his knuckles, the lights in the house glinting off of his lethally sharp claws. "It seems I'm no longer the only one in this marriage with very...  _dangerous_  appendages - and the willingness to use them."

Hide swallowed hard and backed up a half-step, Emiko following him as she looked with wide eyes between the two men. When it occurred to her just what Sesshoumaru was warning her husband over she flushed an unbecoming red with jealousy and rage, and with a chuckle the daiyoukai walked away from the two, ignoring the mutters around him as Emiko practically dragged Hide away and into a side room for what he knew was going to be a nasty little fight.

_So far I'm impressed, Kagome... but then again, you were always strong - you just didn't know it..._

_Now you most certainly do,_ he thought, pleased for the moment. He didn't give a damn who she pissed off, and was in fact eager to see her put all these people in their places. But then his pleased expression darkened a little.  _However... I need to teach her who is alpha in this marriage, and who is not. And I'm quite positive that is going to be the hardest battle of all - getting her to submit._

Sesshoumaru wasn't who he was for nothing, though, and the idea excited him, got his blood flowing for the chase to come. Now she was old enough and dangerous enough to take her place as his mate - a place she had always been meant for. And once she finally did submit to him his world would be complete... for the first time in his long, long life.

He could hardly wait.  _Let the games begin, my lovely wife... let the games begin._

Grabbing a glass of wine from a passing waiter, Sesshoumaru followed the whispers in his wife's wake but stayed back far enough so that he could simply watch her engage the enemies, so to speak.

It looked as if her maiden voyage was going quite well as he watched her put yet another old biddy in her place with feral amusement.

Yes... it was most definitely time for her to stand at his side as the true Western Lady.

She was more than ready...

And he was done waiting.

~oOo~

"So you're the absentee wife," a feminine voice drawled, and Kagome turned around with a raised brow to examine the woman addressing her.

Dressed elegantly in an understated way, the woman was tall with a waterfall of dark hair that flowed down her back in a smooth sheet. She was quite attractive, but like all those that Kagome had met in the upper echelon, she had a slightly bored pout that gave away her true state of mind. Her eyes were cold, their rich brown dulled and jaded.

Kagome smirked and took a sip of her champagne. After a moment of looking each other over, she said, "Yes, and I'd like to keep being the absentee part of it while leaving the 'wife' portion behind, if you don't mind." She chuckled at the other woman's surprise. "Didn't expect that, did you? Well, here's another surprise for you - I can tell you're yet another one of Sesshoumaru's conquests, another notch on his headboard. If you want him so badly that you'd put up with his infidelity, you can have him." With that she raised her champagne glass in a rather jaunty salute to the gaping woman and walked off, supremely bored with the whole thing. Why couldn't there be at least one interesting person to talk to? It would have made this whole wasted evening at least tolerable.

She came to a stop at the end of the ballroom and leaned against the wall, watching with amusement as the entire gathering stared at her and gossiped about her sudden return.

"How'd a bastard like Sesshoumaru get his hands on a woman like you?"

Kagome turned her head to look at the person addressing her and smiled genuinely for the first time that night. "By hook and by crook," she responded to the handsome male with a light laugh. "You're hanyou," she said, noting the adorable fuzzy ears atop his head. "I'm surprised these stuck up bigots even invited you."

Golden eyes warmed and the male grinned engagingly. "Not like they have much of a choice."

She canted her head in curiosity. "And why is that?"

"Because my ass of an older brother won't allow any disrespect to his family - even if he does hate me. And so I get all these invitations, grudging as they are, while they all hope that I won't actually show up." He shrugged good-naturedly. "I usually don't, either. But with the rumors I heard about tonight's party, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet you."

"Why did you want to meet me?" she asked, a bit confused.

"Because I just had to see the woman that my bastard of a brother was going so crazy over," he responded lightly, enjoying the look of shock on her lovely face.

"Wait... Sesshoumaru's your... _brother_?" she asked incredulously, her glass of champagne forgotten. "Why have we never met before?"

"Oh, that ass and I don't get along. He hates me because our father loved my mother, and of course his mother hates me for the same reason." He shrugged carelessly again, an engaging grin on his face that she couldn't help but reciprocate. "Not like I care. Anyway, I avoided Tokyo for a long time, and that's why I wasn't around when he married you." His grin widened as she blinked, obviously having a hard time taking what he'd told her in. "Oh, and the name's Inuyasha, by the way."

Kagome couldn't help it, she giggled. "Well, Inuyasha, my name is Kagome," she replied and stuck her hand out for him to shake, which he did, after which he bowed over it and kissed the back with old-fashioned, courtly manners. She blushed a little as he stood up and grinned back at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Inuyasha. So what do you do here in Tokyo when not bothering with all these snobs?" she asked, more than curious about this brother of Sesshoumaru's - one she'd never even heard hinted about. There was no way he was making it up, though - while a little more rugged than her husband they definitely shared genes now that she was paying attention, and he was just as handsome in a different way - and seemed much more genuine than any of the other fake people around them.

That earned him a lot of points in her book.

He slouched back against the wall casually and his grin turned into a smile. "Business, what else? I own my own company - none of the bastard's money for me - I decided long ago that I'd either sink or swim, but I'd do it on my own. I wasn't about to become Sesshoumaru's little lackey for my part of our inheritance. It was hard work but worth it, because now I'm pretty much that asses equal in the monetary realm, and he hates it. Anything that pisses him off pleases the hell out of me, though, so I'm good with it."

Kagome couldn't help it, she laughed helplessly, suddenly liking this male a whole lot. "Well, more power to you. Because I also love anything that makes Sesshoumaru angry, I'll be cheering you on all the way," she winked at him with a mischievous grin.

Inuyasha stared at her for a few moments, and then shook his head. "You are nothing like I imagined at all from the stories I'd heard about you," he said softly, a considering look in his eyes that she didn't miss. "I'm going to thoroughly enjoy watching you bring him to his knees, and if anyone can do it, it'd be you."

Flushing just a little at the masculine approval in his eyes, Kagome nodded. "It's too bad Sesshoumaru isn't as smart as you are, or he'd have left me alone in Auckland and signed the divorce decree without argument. I'm going to make him regret that mistake greatly before I'm done."

The biggest grin she'd yet seen on him split his face and lit his golden eyes. "You know, I think you and I are going to be great friends, Kagome. I'm seriously going to enjoy watching you take that bastard down."

"Sounds like great fun," she raised her suddenly-remembered glass in salute. "So do you have a home here in Tokyo?"

"Did," he grunted. "But it was destroyed in that last earthquake that came through, and I didn't bother rebuilding it. I've been staying in hotels... but I think I'm going to impose myself on my dear son-of-a-bitch brother. I want front row seats for this melee," he laughed.

Liking the idea of having an ally, nonetheless Kagome was confused. "But Sesshoumaru will never let you stay with him... will he?"

"He doesn't have a choice. It's all part of my father's will. I've never invoked it before, but for this, hell yeah!"

She considered the idea, and a wicked, wicked smile spread across her face. "His mother's going to have a conniption fit, you know. She's already quite enraged that I'm there, let alone you. Sounds lovely," she agreed happily. "That old bat made my life a living hell when I was younger, and it's definitely payback time."

The two grinned at each other, a little surprised that they'd taken to each other so easily, but Kagome had become a pretty good judge of character, and this guy was genuine... he'd also suffered at Sesshoumaru's hands, and as they say... the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

Draining the last of her champagne Kagome set her glass on a waiter's proffered tray and looked around for another waiter. The only good thing about these parties was the very high quality alcohol that was passed around, though she had no intentions of getting drunk. No, she was going to be clear-headed for the confrontations she could feel brewing. As soon as the women had drunk enough to gather their courage, that was.

"You know, Inuyasha, you should stick around." She waved a casual hand at the rest of the crowded ballroom. "Once these pointless women gain a little false courage they'll be after me, and the fireworks will begin. And I've no doubt the bastard I'm unfortunately tied to will saunter on over once that happens - he always did enjoy the company of all the sharp-tongued harpies around here."

"Sounds like the most fun I've had in years," he raised his own glass in salute. "Count me in."

"I'd much rather count you out," came a frigid voice, and Kagome sighed, meeting Inuyasha's laughing gaze with a rueful one of her own.

"Well, there went the neighborhood. Couldn't you run off with one of your floozies and leave me alone, Sesshoumaru?" she sighed. "For the first time ever I was actually enjoying one of these boring parties, and you had to go and insinuate yourself where you aren't wanted. Your brother is very... entertaining," she added with a lightly flirtatious smile, deliberately baiting him - and Inuyasha's eyes gleaming with laughter egged her on. "Much more interesting than anyone _else_  at this party."

Sesshoumaru didn't miss the slight in her words; he glared at her, his eyes promising retribution.

Kagome just held his gaze, her own flat and unintimidated.

After a moment of that, Sesshoumaru turned his frigid gaze on his half-brother, a sudden surge of jealousy making him aggressive. "You sniff where you aren't wanted, hanyou. Stay away from my wife," he growled.

At that Kagome turned a dangerous gaze on Sesshoumaru, her reiki beginning to react to the deadly spike of youki in the air. "You don't own me, and I will speak to whoever I wish, are we clear?" she hissed in a low tone. "Go find someone else to bother."

"I don't think so," he drawled, still staring threateningly at his brother, who just looked more amused. "I think that you are forgetting who your husband is, woman. Perhaps I should remind you."

Kagome's eyes went flat and cold. "Gloat over that all you want, Sesshoumaru, because one day I _will_  walk away from you a free woman. You might be able to drag the proceedings out, but you can't hold me prisoner forever," she snapped.

Inuyasha laughed aloud at the look on his brother's face. "Looks like you picked the wrong woman, bastard - because I think you found the one woman on the planet that's actually not afraid of you. I'm going to enjoy every bit of this situation more than I have anything else in my life!"

"You will not be seeing my wife again, so do not get your hopes up," he shot back at his half-brother, a raging inferno of sheer hate whirling up inside him at the hanyou's insinuations.

Inuyasha's grin widened and his fangs glinted in the light. "Ah, but you don't have any say in that, now do you, bastard? I've been missing the fights with your dear mother so much that I've decided to stay at the mansion - and thanks to dad's will, you can't turn me out or deny me. So I'm going to have frontline seats to this whole, wonderful debacle. Deal with it," he finished dismissively, the urge to dissolve into laughter at the look on his brother's face almost overwhelming.

This was quite possibly the most fun he'd had in years - and it was just beginning. He could hardly wait.

"Father's will can only restrain me so far, foolish bastard child," Sesshoumaru warned coldly, his eyes filled with threat and heat that actually managed to stun Inuyasha for several long moments. It took him a few to understand. This wasn't a game. His brother was  _serious_ _._ "If you wish to keep breathing, keep your filthy paws off my wife, are we clear?"

And then a huge, beaming grin crossed Inuyasha's face. "Oh, this is going to be even better than I'd thought," he gloated, glancing between the two fuming people in front of him. "The untouchable lord has finally fallen from his pedestal - I never thought I'd see the day."

"What?" Kagome said, confused at the sudden undercurrents, and that same niggling feeling of worry she'd had during dinner about Sesshoumaru's reasons for demanding her presence returned as she stared with narrowed eyes between the daiyoukai and his brother.

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, didn't even look away from his half-sibling, a subsonic, rumbling growl vibrating the air around them.

So Inuyasha took it upon himself to answer her question. "I've been waiting for years to see the day that the bastard here found someone he couldn't intimidate or push around - someone as strong-willed and defiant as the beautiful woman in front of him right now."

His brother was going to go down in flames, and it was absolutely going to be the very best day of his life when that finally happened.

No one moved when a silky voice interrupted the dangerous silence simmering between the three after Inuyasha's last comment and a neatly manicured hand gently touched Sesshoumaru's shoulder and then ran lightly and almost proprietorially down his arm.

"Come, Sesshoumaru, why don't you leave the rabble-" the woman said with what she considered a seductive pout, "-to entertain themselves?"

It was the same woman Kagome had earlier basically told she could have the daiyoukai with her blessing, and she couldn't help the mocking smile she directed at her. "What took you so long?" she asked dryly. "I told you you could take him off my hands quite some time ago. Instead he's here bothering me instead of chasing you around this eyesore. Could you possibly work any slower?"

Inuyasha almost spit out the wine he'd just sipped while avidly watching his newfound partner in crime to see what she was made of, and instantly decided not to have food or drink when the two combatants were in close proximity. There was too much of a chance that sooner or later he'd end up losing the fight to keep things in his mouth instead of all over the immediate area as he almost fell to the ground in stitches.

"You hussy," the other woman hissed, nose in the air. "Why don't you-"

She was cut off by Kagome's laughter. "Hussy? _Seriously_?! That's all you could come up with?" she giggled. "That's quite hypocritical, since I'm not the one hanging all over a supposedly married man. That word would apply more to you than me. Perhaps next time you decide to use a word-" she shook her head at the woman's expression, "-you should look it up first to see what it means."

The woman's hand tightened on Sesshoumaru at the insult as her face flushed with heat, but she was once again cut off, this time before she could even get anything out. "Kimiko, why are you here?"

With a dismissive smirk sent Kagome's way she answered, looking up with fluttering lashes at the daiyoukai, who still hadn't stopped staring with hard eyes at his brother. "Rikichi and Chime asked me to come find you - they've been looking for you!" she said, tugging lightly on the arm she still had trapped within her grasp.

With one last warning glare at his brother and another sent towards his wife Sesshoumaru finally looked down at the female on his arm and inclined his head. "Very well - I do have business to discuss with Rikichi, and now is as good a time as any." He looked back up at Kagome, now completely ignoring Inuyasha. "Don't disappear, my dear - I'll only be more annoyed if I have to track you down when it's time to leave."

Brow rising, Kagome stared him down. "I'll do as I please, Sesshoumaru. I'd have thought you'd have figured that out by now," she said blandly, promptly turning back towards Inuyasha and snubbing both Sesshoumaru and his little lady-friend as though they didn't exist. She easily initiated a rousing discussion with the hanyou about favorite pastimes and took not another moment's notice of her husband nor his flock of bitches in heat - and Sesshoumaru definitely was aware of that fact, since he watched her closely all night.

He wondered idly just how much more of this he could take - and she'd only been back for less than a day.

How was he ever going to make it through the promised month without just tossing her down and mating her with or without her permission?

~oOo~

Kagome paused in mid-anecdote as a sour expression wiped the smile off of Inuyasha's face as he looked over her shoulder. Brow rising, she turned her head and followed his gaze - and then her face went sour, too.

She sighed with irritation. "I'd hoped you'd already slept your way through the upper-echelon and finally been tossed out. That blows that hope. What the hell do you want, Kikyou?"

The gorgeous woman so-addressed scowled at Kagome. "And I suppose you haven't done the same down there in that kami-forsaken place you've been living. I'm sure there are all sorts of boytoys out there for you to choose from - even if you'd have to bribe them something terrible to spend time with low trash like you," Kikyou spat, glaring at the slightly younger woman with hatred.

"Don't speak that way to her, Kikyou, or-"

"No, Inuyasha, it's okay. Kikyou's my cousin, unfortunately," she glanced at the fuming woman with dislike, wondering what had truly crawled in her cheerios to make her such a bitch. "But she's seemed to forget that I am not her, and I actually do have standards. And neither she nor your brother are up to them."

Inuyasha couldn't help the chuckle that response pulled from him, though he was stunned to know that the two women were related. He didn't react, however, deciding to save it for after Kikyou had departed. "Yeah, unfortunately I know her, too," he said slowly, frowning again as he looked back at the suddenly suspicious expression on her always petulantly pouting face. "So what the hell did ya want, anyway? Just to exercise that catty mouth of yours?"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha with surprise. "You... know Kikyou?" she asked blankly.

"Oh, yeah," he said, ignoring Kikyou's angry hiss. "She used me to get to Sesshoumaru. She played it good, I'll admit, but she eventually showed her true colors and I dumped her. She's spent all the years since following that uptight bastard around trying to get him into her bed, and then once she'd done that she started trying to get something more out of him. He dumped her within days and moved on to the next, and she's been desperate to get him back ever since." He rolled his eyes as he looked at Kagome's blue ones with a small smile. "Not that it's ever going to happen, but she's pretty delusional," he whispered in a falsely confidential tone that everyone nearby could hear.

"Hm... seems my presence here has put a slight crimp in your plans then, Kikyou. You know what? That actually makes me happy! It couldn't happen to a more deserving person than you. Now," Kagome said, nonchalantly turning her head back around and dismissing the haughty, bitter woman - to her extreme ire, "why don't you go join the bastard and all his other 'ladies', and leave me the hell alone?"

Kikyou wasn't ready to be ignored, though, and Kagome stiffened as the other woman's voice sounded right in her ear. "You might have his attention right now, but as soon as I can convince him to divorce you it'll all be over. He'll be mine, and you'll just be used goods."

Temper sparking a little at the threatening tone of Kikyou's voice, Kagome spun on her heel to stare incredulously at the older woman. "Are you really that dense? Haven't you figured out by now that I'm not interested in that cold jerk in the slightest, and I'd be ecstatic if you  _could_ talk him into divorcing me?" She shook her head. "I'm not your problem-" she gestured over towards the corner that Sesshoumaru was holding court in and all the females fluttering around him, " _they_  are. So why don't you go make the rounds and pass that warning on to them, because you're just wasting your time trying to upset me about such a topic. I'd be most pleased if you could get him far, far away from me."

It was clear the other woman didn't know what to make of that; black eyes flashing, she sniffed in Kagome's direction and then glowered at Inuyasha. "And why are you hanging around the whey-faced bitch, anyway?"

While Kagome chortled at being called a 'whey-faced bitch', Inuyasha glared right back at his ex. "None of your business, Kikyou," he said bluntly, knowing that would get the other woman. She had never been able to stand the word or concept of 'no' and so she didn't really know how to act when she did get that answer. After a stare-down of a minute or so, Inuyasha turned his attention back to Kagome. "Why don't we go sit out on the balcony - it's a nice night out and this room is getting a bit stuffy."

"I think you mean rancid," Kagome muttered under her breath while nodding her acquiescence and allowing the hanyou to take her arm. Apparently she hadn't been quite quiet enough though, and Kikyou's gasp of gobsmacked shock that Inuyasha's choked laughter almost drowned out made her look over at her again.

"How dare you-!" she began, but was once more cut off by the hanyou.

"Very easily, I assure you. Now go away, Kikyou. If you hadn't figured it out already, you aren't welcome here. Go find someone else to badger and leave us the hell alone."

Both women stared at him at the hard note in his voice, and Kikyou was suddenly not so sure what to think about anything anymore.

Maybe Sesshoumaru really was out of her reach...

But she wasn't going to give up. She wanted him, and sooner or later she'd get him and to hell with low scum like her ex and her cousin - they were nothing more than the dirt beneath her feet.

 _Nonetheless..._ "This isn't over," she seethed, looking back and forth between the two. "Not by a long-shot." And with that she stormed away, head held high but two spots of color on her cheekbones gave the lie away. She'd just been completely knocked off-kilter and shown up by her once timid cousin.

 _Round two, Kagome. And all the rest of the rounds to come, as well,_ the younger woman thought with satisfaction.

She grinned and looked up to see a matching expression on the oddly playful Inuyasha's features once again as he led her across the room to the doors onto the balcony and the bench seats it sported.  _Yeah... that one definitely went to me!_

  
  


 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning found a calm Kagome drinking tea from a delicate china cup on the deck just off the kitchen. It was a sunny, pretty day with a few high, fluffy clouds drifting across the sky, and the best part was that so far Sesshoumaru and his mother hadn't bothered her.

It was actually peaceful for once, though she knew that wouldn't last, since Inuyasha would be showing up some time today and basically moving himself in for the duration. She giggled a little – they'd hit it off immediately last night, and she knew she'd made a permanent friend in him, one she'd be keeping even after she finally regained her freedom from Sesshoumaru.

 _It's absolutely amazing how different he and Inuyasha are. I wonder what his mother was like – and their father, for that matter. To have raised two such different children..._ She shook her head – it was incomprehensible to her in so many ways. _Oh, well,_ she shrugged her thoughts off as her cell rang. She glanced down at the number and then answered with a smile.

“Hey, Sango! How are things going now that you've got the apartment temporarily to yourself?” she teased.

Her friend's voice was bright when she answered, though there was an undertone of concern. “Oh, you know, it's great not having a roommate,” she poked back, though they both knew she was lying. Sango hated being alone. “But hey... how are you doing? Is everything... okay?” she asked hesitantly.

Kagome chuckled, leaning back in her chair and looking up at the sky with pleasure. “Everything's fine, Sango, don't worry. I'm actually having a good time getting my own back with all these harpies around here.”

“Oh... well, good!” Sango replied, her voice lightening considerably. “And how are you handling you know who?”

“Like a professional bitch,” she sent back cheerfully. “And hey – I've even got a new friend and ally – the half-brother I never knew Sesshoumaru had. They don't get along very well, so Inuyasha's enjoying seeing him being 'knocked off his pedestal', as he put it,” she finished mirthfully.

“I wish I could be there,” her best friend sighed, though her worry had faded from her voice at Kagome's calm elan over the situation. “But I'm glad you've got them all by the balls,” she said bluntly. “That's the way to do it – never let them run you down again, girl.”

Kagome giggled at her friend's phrasing but simply shook her head. That was just Sango for you. “If you were here I think Sesshoumaru would have already given up and sent us back to Auckland. I don't think he'd be able to handle both of us,” she laughed.

“Hell, no, he wouldn't,” Sango retorted, a grin in her voice. “No man's going to 'handle' me – not that Miroku still isn't trying, but I'm used to dealing with that lecher, so it's no biggie.” She paused, then said, “Oh, hey, by the way... you got a letter from your lawyer here – did you want me to forward it on to you?”

“Hm,” Kagome frowned, “I wonder what Kouga wants? Why don't you just open it and read it to me,” she suggested. “I'd rather not wait to find out something has gone wrong.”

Sango hesitated. “You don't mind?”

“Not at all! You're like a sister to me, silly, you're my best friend, and I know I can trust you with my life,” she said a little chidingly, “so go ahead!”

She could hear the heartfelt smile in her friend's voice. “Okay,” was all she said in return to the sentiment, just accepting Kagome's words and moving on in her usual forthright manner. “Let's see,” she murmured as the sound of tearing paper came through the phone. It was quiet for a few moments as she read rapidly through the letter, and then, “Oh, my god, Kagome. From what this is saying, your lawyer has found a little loophole in your father's will. Apparently, if you can prove you're fit to handle your finances before a judge, then you might be able to get control of your fortune now instead of having to wait!” she reported excitedly. “If you could do this you could get out from under that guy's thumb now instead of in a few years!”

If at first inclined to jump out of her chair in excitement, a second thought paused her; while she was definitely going to take a chance on that loophole, that wouldn't really help her with her current situation of having to spend the month here in Tokyo. Anything that had to go to a courtroom setting took time – it would probably take at least a couple of months to get a court date. “Hmmm,” she hedged, thinking it all through. “I think I'll give Kouga a call and tell him to go for it. Let him get all the initial filing done and everything, that way once I'm finished with this month in hell I can prepare for court at my leisure, and Sesshoumaru won't be able to hold my inheritance over my head the way he has been ever again.” A sly grin twitched her lips and then she giggled. “Oh, this is going to send him wild! I almost wish I could be a fly on the wall when he receives the summons to court over the matter. He'll be livid!”

“You and me both!” Sango cheered, thrilled for her friend. She had no doubts Kagome would be able to sway any judge to decide in her favor. The girl was sober, bright, a hard worker, and she'd been managing a business for several years now. There was nothing to find fault with in her business acumen or how she handled her money.

“Thanks for calling me about this, Sango,” Kagome returned affectionately. “This might just make all the difference for me – and if I can get control of my money now, I could also file for divorce this year instead of having to wait another couple of years.” She sighed blissfully. “I think you just made my entire life, girl.”

“Not a problem at all – I'm thrilled for you,” the brunette said. “Well, I'd better get off here so you can get that call to Kouga out of the way – sooner started, sooner ended in your favor, right?”

“Too right!” Kagome agreed cheerfully, and after saying her goodbyes she hung up, feeling more hopeful than she had in a long time. Without pause she dialed her lawyer, and the ensuing conversation practically had her glowing with pleasure.

But as she hung up with the wolf youkai she sighed and her brow furrowed – she'd have to tone her elation down or Sesshoumaru would know something was up. And she most definitely didn't want that – she wanted this to come out of nowhere like a devastating right hook and knock him off his high horse. She wanted to _see_ the crater he'd make in the floor as he fell, so with a control she wouldn't have had just a few short years ago she calmed herself and buried her excitement under the facade she'd perfected since leaving Tokyo.

_Finally... something's finally going my way. After everything I went through at his hands, I'm going to relish being freed of him once and for all._

~oOo~

“Kagome!”

Turning around at the sound of someone calling her, the young woman was astonished to see a beautiful teenage girl running towards her, and she blinked, surprised for a moment – until she recognized her. Waving at her with a bright smile, she turned and hurried forward, meeting the grinning teenager halfway with a hug.

“Rin! Oh, my god, look at you! You're so beautiful!” Kagome gasped, pulling back from the tight hug with wide eyes and looking the young woman over. “It's so good to see you!”

During her time as a virtual prisoner here, Rin had been her only consolation. She'd liked the girl immediately on meeting her, and they'd become fast friends. And strange as it might seem, as she was the daughter of Sesshoumaru and Kagura, that hadn't interfered in any way in their easy friendship. She'd even tried to act as a buffer between her and her grandmother – and had been partially successful in the fact that whenever she'd been around the older female had been forced by her affection for her granddaughter into leaving off the torture. Rin had really given her the only peace she'd known after her disastrous forced wedding, and she had remained fond of the girl, even exchanging occasional letters and cards with her after she'd left Tokyo.

“And you, too, Kagome!” Rin chirped cheerfully, a sunny smile lighting her face. “You look so polished now and so much happier, too!”

With a laugh Kagome turned and tilted her head at the table that still held her tea. “Come on, why don't we sit down and have a nice talk – it's too beautiful of a day to be inside, right?”

Rin giggled and nodded in return. “Of course it is... I much prefer being out here in the gardens than anywhere inside that old pile, anyway. Walls just aren't as beautiful as flowers, after all!”

Unable to help the laughter that comment brought out, Kagome ruefully agreed. Rin had always been a nature child – she loved flowers and plants more than just about anything, and sometimes her penchant for gardening drove her father nuts. He employed gardeners, and taking care of the extensive gardens was their job, not his daughter's. But he'd never been able to say no to her... not many could with that beautiful, ingenious little face beaming so joyfully. She had to be one of the happiest people Kagome had ever met – and with her surroundings, parentage, and grandmother's influence that was amazing.

“So... you've graduated high-school at the top of your class, I hear... have you chosen a university yet?” she asked, honestly curious to know what the young woman wanted to do with her life.

“Well, I've been offered a place at Hokkaido, as well as Tokyo U, but I'm really thinking about going to Kyoto. Then again,” she hummed thoughtfully, “there's Nagoya. They do have a top rated science and technology department.”

Kagome was a little surprised. “Science?”

Rin smiled ruefully at her expression. “I know, it sounds strange, but I want to be a botanist.”

Expression clearing, she chuckled. “Oh, now it makes sense. Still, Tokyo U also has high ratings for the sciences, too. I figured you'd want to stay close to home.”

“Nope. I'd actually like to get out there and see something different,” she returned wryly, and grinned when Kagome laughed.

“Well, I can't blame you there, because life's certainly a lot more fun if you grab everything you can out of it,” she agreed.

“So... what about you? What are you wanting do with your life, Kagome?” Rin asked, looking her older friend over with a smile. “I know you've been working at a bookstore... but don't you want to go to college, too?”

Kagome sighed and sobered a little at that as she thought about it. Did she want to go to college? Certainly, before her life had been hijacked by her father's and Sesshoumaru's high-handed actions she'd been preparing for it just like every other good Japanese teenager. But now? Would she even have time if she were running a business?

“I'm... not sure, actually,” she said after a moment. “I've been offered the chance to buy the bookstore chain that I've been managing for the last several years, and I'm going to take it. If I'm running and expanding a business like that I don't know if I'd have time for school as well.”

Rin's eyes brightened. “Really? That's awesome! I'm so excited for you! As long as this is what you want, who cares what anyone else says, right?”

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked, her eyes showing her confusion.

Rin waved a hand and scoffed. “Oh, you know – the naysayers that always harp on whether one has a degree or not. I say if you are already handling a business and excelling at it, who needs a piece of paper saying a bunch of stuffy old professors agree that you know what you're doing?”

“Oh,” she chuckled. “Well, those kind of people are everywhere, but honestly, I haven't run into anyone like that down in New Zealand so far. They're a lot more open to deciding for themselves whether you're capable or not. Just like my boss – he didn't care a bit whether I had a degree or not. I proved I could handle the business and that's all he cared about.”

Rin was just about to respond when she caught sight of her father crossing the deck and smiled in welcome. “Oh, hey, dad. I'm surprised you aren't at work – isn't it a little late in the day for you to still be here and dressed so casually, too?”

“I won't be working for the next month unless an emergency presents itself,” the daiyoukai said quietly, glancing at Kagome with an expression she found made her uneasy for the fact that it was one she couldn't decipher. For once there was no edge of tension riding him, no aggression directed at her in any way. With his hands in his pockets and that enigmatic look on his face he looked the picture of ease – and yet for some reason, his calm was making her definitely nervous. An aggressive, combative Sesshoumaru she could deal with – but this?

“Oh... you're actually taking a vacation from work?” Rin teased, seemingly unaware of the heavy atmosphere between her father and his wife. “The world must be ending,” she laughed. “I can't remember the last time _you_ ditched work.”

“Yes, well... there are a very few things in this life that are more important,” he replied with a glance in Kagome's direction before returning his gaze to his daughter with a small smile. “What kind of male would I be if I didn't put my family ahead of money?”

Eyes narrowing minutely on the daiyoukai, Kagome bit her tongue. She knew what he was intimating with that comment – that she was a part of what he considered his family and she was what he was ditching work to attend to. _Ha... a little too late to decide that now, you jerk,_ she thought resentfully, though she was careful not to show her reaction. She didn't want to upset Rin. Even back when she'd lived here she'd done her best to shield the younger girl from the horror of what her life was really like at Sesshoumaru's hands. She'd absolutely refused to fight or argue with either of the other people in the mansion if the thirteen year-old was anywhere nearby, not wanting to upset the girl's beautiful heart.

“An appropriate sentiment for a father,” was all she said in a level tone before taking a sip of her tea. She made a face – it had grown cold, and so she stood up and excused herself, taking her cup and heading for the kitchen to see if the cook could make a fresh pot. Normally she'd just make it herself, but the woman who ran the kitchens with an iron fist wouldn't allow anyone else to do her job, and so Kagome just smiled and bore the discomfort of having someone waiting on her in any manner.

She'd always been a little too independent to enjoy having people do things for her – she was quite capable of doing them for herself.

“Kya-san, could I have a fresh pot of tea if you aren't too busy?” she asked politely, handing the cup over when the older woman turned and held her hand out for it.

“Of course, Kagome-sama,” she replied with a friendly smile, and Kagome winced inwardly at being addressed as 'sama'.

“Thank you,” she said, turning and watching out the windows as Sesshoumaru and Rin interacted. She couldn't help the slight envy that went through her as she watched how he treated his daughter like she was the most precious thing on earth. If only... but no... such things weren't for her. She hardened her heart and looked away, instead staring at the gardens as she waited for her tea. Once upon a time she'd have greeted positive attention from him with happiness, but that hadn't lasted long once she'd met the reality of who he was to everyone else but Rin.

She wasn't Rin, and she wasn't Kagura, and now she no longer even wanted to be. She was Kagome, not anyone else.

~oOo~

“What are you up to, father?” Rin asked quietly as Kagome disappeared inside the house. She watched her sire follow the other woman with his eyes, his enigmatic expression not fooling her for an instant.

Sesshoumaru flicked a glance at his daughter as his wife disappeared from view and leaned against the balustrade behind him, folding his arms over his chest. “Taking care of my family,” he answered, his gaze going back to the kitchen and the woman inside it; even though he couldn't exactly see her, he could still feel her.

“Hmm, the way you say that... _is_ Kagome part of this family, then?”

It was silent for several long moments, and then he said, “Yes.”

The teen studied her father with oddly calculating eyes. “Why is she family now, when you didn't treat her that way before?”

Startled, Sesshoumaru shot her a sharp look, a little surprised to see the weighing expression on her normally easygoing face. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, dad, I'm not stupid. I wasn't back then, either. Kagome might have tried to hide it from me, as did you, but I knew how badly you treated her and that's why I wasn't at all shocked when she ran away. If I'd been her I'd have left sooner, actually. So why is she family _now_ when she wasn't then? What's changed?”

Taken aback as his daughter basically called him out, Sesshoumaru stared at her for several moments and then sighed slightly, surprising Rin. She didn't think she'd ever heard that sound from him before. “Her age,” he hesitated, and then added, “she was too young, back then.”

Rin's eyes widened in shock. She was half inuyoukai, so she knew full well what her father was saying with those words, and she just stared at him as she looked at the events of her father's wedding and that disastrous first year of his marriage through new eyes.

 _Oh... now I understand,_ she sighed inwardly with sadness. _Now it all makes sense._ “I'm sorry. That must have been really hard for you,” she sympathized. Standing up, she wrapped slim arms around her father and just held him, truly sad for him and for Kagome. _He must have been horrified when he realized..._ She pulled back after a few minutes and looked up at him. “I'll help you, dad. I'll do everything I can to help you get her back. Though I have to say you still could have treated her better back then.”

Sesshoumaru smiled faintly down at his beloved daughter with an oddly open gaze, since she'd already figured it out – or at least the majority of it - there was little point in trying to be evasive about the matter. “Thank you,” was all he said, before his eyes went back to the house and the disconcertingly blank windows staring back at him. “I do believe I'm going to need all the help I can get.”

~oOo~

“What is he doing here?” Satori spat acidly, looking with extreme dislike at the hanyou that had just sauntered into the foyer like he owned the place, and immediately Sesshoumaru's rather pensive mood of the morning disappeared like mist in the desert.

“I came to enjoy the fireworks,” Inuyasha grinned easily, not at all put out at the hostility he was being greeted with. “And see-”

“Uncle Inuyasha!” Rin greeted enthusiastically, running down the stairs and throwing herself at the hanyou. Despite her grandmother and her father's rancor towards him Rin had always adored him, and he was very fond of her, as well.

“Hey, pup, what's up?” he quipped smilingly as he hugged his niece. “You look good despite being stuck in this tomb with the Addams Family over there.”

“Stop it, uncle,” Rin chided laughingly as she pulled away. “Why can't you all be nice to each other?”

“Because I'm not getting paid enough,” Inuyasha teased wryly. He glanced over at the sour faces of his half-brother and the bastard's mother, and shuddered. “Not nearly enough. So...” he began, looking around, “where's Kagome?”

Satori narrowed her eyes on the bastard upstart that was stinking up her home. “How the hell do you know that low-clas-”

She was silenced by a snarl as Sesshoumaru pinned first her and then Inuyasha with reddening eyes. “Enough, mother. Not another insult or you'll be finding someplace else to live,” he growled, to her shock. “And you, hanyou – I already warned you to stay away from my wife.”

Rin sighed and shook her head ruefully. “Are you guys ever going to stop fighting?” she asked rhetorically.

“Probably not,” came a fifth voice, and everyone standing in the grand entrance looked up to the first floor balcony to see Kagome looking down upon the group with a strange smile. “Honestly, half the time it's like being in a dog pound around here what with all the snarling and snapping going on at all hours,” she said, and both Rin and Inuyasha chuckled at her smart comment.

“Not like you haven't done your fair share of snarling and snapping, my dear,” Sesshoumaru returned coolly.

She shrugged lightly. “Well, you know the old saying,” she grinned, “when in Rome...” she trailed off suggestively before meeting Inuyasha's gaze. “And good afternoon to you. You're looking quite cheerful today.”

“Well, what do you expect? I haven't been here five minutes and already I'm having more fun than a barrel of monkeys,” he chuckled, grinning at her in return as she made her way down the stairs.

“Yes, well, this is probably the most fun this place has seen since it was built,” Kagome sighed, ignoring the fulminating glare Satori was sending her way. “Actually, I think we might be breaking some kind of law about that. You know... going over our daily fun allowance. Who knows what the consequences will be?”

Rin giggled, shooting an amused look at her glowering parent. “You know, Kagome, you might be right. Maybe we should stage a mutiny and fill this place with laughter instead. It would be a lot more interesting around here if we all laughed and enjoyed ourselves rather than all the arguing.”

“I see your uncle has been rubbing off on you,” Sesshoumaru frowned, casting a rather dirty look at his half-brother. “His irreverent behavior at all times is certainly not welcome.”

“I'm going out,” Satori snapped, angry at the sense of easy camaraderie between her granddaughter, the bastard hanyou she hated, and the bitch her son had replaced Kagura with.

“Hn,” Sesshoumaru said coldly, narrowing his eyes warningly at her. “Do not return until your temper has improved,” was all he said as he turned away from her to head into the depths of the manor. “Kagome, be ready to leave in an hour. Dress casual,” he added over his shoulder, and the woman in question frowned after him, wondering what he was up to now.

Inuyasha stared after his brother with speculative interest, then looked at the beautiful woman the bastard was lucky enough to call wife with a question in golden eyes. She met his gaze and shrugged, completely clueless.

“Don't look at me, I don't know what that was all about either.”

Noticing that a certain someone was conspicuously quiet, both adults turned to look at Rin, who grinned sheepishly. “What?”

“Spill, pup,” Inuyasha growled playfully, grabbing the teen and tickling her.

“Nope,” she giggled, squirming away from her uncle's grasp. “It's supposed to be a surprise.” She glanced over at Kagome. “You'll like it, though,” she added cheekily.

Brow rising into her bangs, Kagome sighed. _I wouldn't count on that, Rin. I may like the destination, but I'm not going to enjoy the company._ “Well, I suppose I should get ready, then,” was all she said to that. Meeting Inuyasha's knowing gaze, she smiled. “I guess I'll see you later. Have fun, you two,” she chuckled as she turned to go back upstairs, heading for her bedroom to find something decent to wear.

As soon as she was out of sight Inuyasha looked at his smirking niece. “Okay, _now_ you can spill. What's he up to?”

Rin shook her head and skipped away from her uncle's reach. “Nope. Still not telling,” she chanted in a sing-song voice, cheerful laughter spilling from her throat as she ran off, her playfully growling uncle chasing after her through the house with threats of terrible vengeance echoing off the walls along with her delighted laughter.

~oOo~

“What possessed you to bring me here?” Kagome asked quietly two hours later as they wandered beneath the spreading branches of the Goshinboku.

Silver locks swaying softly in the gentle breeze, Sesshoumaru looked out over the grounds of the Sunset Shrine, pleased with how the caretaker he'd had installed was discharging his responsibilities. After a moment he said, “I simply thought you would like to see how it was being cared for. And perhaps visit your parent's graves.” Both her mother and father were buried in the graveyard behind the shrine proper where all the past shrinekeepers had been laid to rest since the place had been built in the Sengoku Jidai. “Was I wrong?”

Kagome shook her head after a moment, wanting to maintain her anger at him but seemingly unable to beneath the god tree. It had always had a knack for calming even her worst moods when she was younger, and apparently that hadn't changed. “No. I'm glad to see that it's being taken good care of,” she said tonelessly. “But this kind of gesture isn't like you, Sesshoumaru.”

“Perhaps. And perhaps you don't know me as well as you think,” he answered before taking her by the elbow and guiding her towards the graveyard.

“Oh, I know you as well as I ever intend to, as well as I need to,” she retorted, though there was no real heat in the words, and she didn't fight him as he led her where he wanted her to go. “Getting any closer would be a pointless exercise.”

Sesshoumaru didn't respond that time, and after a moment Kagome turned her attention to the different monuments, heading unerringly for the ones that housed her parent's remains. The daiyoukai let her go, staying back in respect to her privacy.

Setting his presence aside for the moment Kagome reached her father's monument and knelt before it, staring at the fresh flowers at the base of it with saddened eyes. She reached out and ran a gentle finger down the base of it. “Why did you do this to me, dad? Was male solidarity really worth ruining my life?” she whispered. “You had to know what he was like – did you think someone like that could make me happy?”

She'd spent much futile time over the last six years wondering those same things. Would her father have done the same if he'd been able to see the outcome? Or would he have been angry that she'd run away and left the husband who was no husband?

It had never made sense to her. She had thought her father loved her, but how could he leave her with Sesshoumaru as a husband if he did? She sighed. “I wish I could talk to you one more time, so that you could tell me what you were thinking and why you did what you did. I don't know if I'll ever find peace with your memory because of all of this.”

Silence greeted her just as she'd known it would, and with melancholy eyes she looked away and stood up, moving over to her mother's monument. This time her sadness was more for the loss of her mother rather than angst over her choices, and she knelt again, her eyes touched by wistful tears.

If her mother hadn't already been dead when her father died, her life would be so different now. She'd probably be getting ready to graduate from college, possibly engaged, and most likely a great deal less scarred than she was currently – and a great deal happier.

“I miss you so much sometimes, mama,” she said softly. “Things were so hard after you died... and they only got harder when dad died. Have you been watching over me? Have you defended me from father's actions there in the other world, perhaps yelled at him for what he's caused? It would be nice to know someone out there was watching over me-” she flicked a surreptitious glance behind her, “-besides Sesshoumaru. It's not like _he_ has my best interests at heart.”

A soft breeze brushed playful fingers through her hair, and Kagome smiled sadly. “What should I do, mama? How can I make sure that I don't end up stuck here at the end of the month? I'm afraid he's going to go back on his word and try something underhanded to keep me here, and I already just want to go back to Auckland-” she blushed guiltily, “-back... home.”

It was strange to be sitting here on the shrine where she grew up and calling somewhere else home – someplace that wasn't even in the same country. But it was true nonetheless – the day she'd been forced to marry Sesshoumaru the shrine had ceased being her home, and she was pretty sure she would never regain the former feelings she'd had for it. It was just a place now – a place with a lot of memories, true - but still just a place.

With an impatient shake of her head Kagome stood up and resolutely turned away from her parent's graves, not wanting to dwell on the past anymore. There just wasn't any point, since it wasn't like she'd ever get any of the answers from them that she wished she had.

“So who's been taking care of the place?” she asked neutrally as she rejoined Sesshoumaru near the entrance to the graveyard.

“An old schoolfriend of yours, actually,” he replied in the same manner. “Hojo.”

“Really?” Kagome looked taken aback; the boy who'd had a severe crush on her throughout junior high had always talked about being a doctor, not a shrinekeeper.

The daiyoukai glanced at her. “Yes. He and his wife live here while he goes to school. I suppose she does most of the work, leaving only the more difficult chores for him.”

“What's he in school for?”

“Medicine,” Sesshoumaru replied. “I believe he only has a few more years of school before he graduates. From what I understand he has so far received top marks.”

Kagome chuckled in a subdued manner. “I'm not surprised. He always was very bright. I _am_ surprised he's married already, though. He always insisted he would wait to get married until he was finished with school and his internship so that he could have a more settled life with a private practice so he'd have more time for a family.”

Sesshoumaru shot her an enigmatic glance. “Yes, well... sometimes life throws you a curve, and you have to be ready to adapt.”

Coming to a halt, she stared at him with calculating eyes. “So what curve did life throw you that you needed me to adapt to it?” she prodded. “I'm not a fool, Sesshoumaru. There's some reason for what you're doing – you never do anything without one, and I don't think it's too much to ask that you simply be honest with me and let me in on the joke.”

The inuyoukai came to a halt and turned to meet her gaze with eyes that were glowing in an almost feline manner, an indecipherable look in them that had her uneasy for the second time that day. “Do you really want to know?” he asked coolly.

“Yes!” she shot at him, exasperated and annoyed. “I really want to know! So why don't you put us both out of our misery and just tell me so that we can get whatever it is over with and I can go home?”

Sesshoumaru smiled faintly. “I want you to be my mate, Kagome,” he said, his smile widening just slightly at the stunned, horrified look on her face. “And you can be assured that I am not joking. Not the slightest bit.”

She stared at him with wild eyes as he turned and began walking towards the stairs leading to the street, his, “Come, wife, I'm hungry and it's almost dinnertime,” tossed easily over his shoulder as if he hadn't just turned her entire world upside down with what he'd just said.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm humbled and astounded at the response I've had to this story so far. Because of that and some RL issues I haven't been responding to reviews and that will probably continue – every time I post a chapter of this story my inbox gets absolutely swamped – between Dokuga and FF I'm averaging over a hundred reviews per chapter. That's just too many all at once to respond to, and that's not even counting reviews that I still get for other stories. However, I read every one and enjoy them greatly – they are what keeps me writing, because if no ones enjoying the story then I just won't bother to write it.
> 
> I'll still try to get answers out to questions, though I wasn't able to respond to much of anything from last chapter, and I sincerely apologize for that!
> 
> Amber


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Mate. Does he think I'm a fool? Why in hell's name would I mate the bastard that treated me like garbage?_

Kagome was confused, on edge, and worried, and needed to find out just what mating entailed. She knew next to nothing about it except that it tied the individuals together in every way for eternity. She huffed – she couldn't imagine a more horrible existence than to be tied to that arrogant bastard for what would amount to forever. She'd sooner the kami send her soul on to its next incarnation than be linked to the inuyoukai in such a manner.

She needed to talk to Inuyasha. He was the only one she could trust to tell her the truth in this kind of situation. Determination fueling her steps, Kagome dressed casually and left her rooms headed for the kitchen and breakfast. She was pretty sure he'd be there, if not already then soon. They could eat and then she'd snag him and drag him off for a conference.

Fortunately for her, despite Sesshoumaru's habit of rising early he was nowhere to be found at breakfast, but Inuyasha certainly was, and when she whispered to him in passing that she needed to talk to him after they'd eaten he looked at her curiously but nodded.

Breakfast was silent and over fairly quickly, to Kagome's pleasure, and she had to smile when her new friend finally looked like he was finishing.

“Ah,” Inuyasha sighed as he swallowed his last bite, sitting back in his seat and taking a long sip of his tea. “Now I feel ready to face the day,” he joked, looking content and replete. “I hate this moldy old pile, but Kya-san is the best cook around, so it's always worth it whenever I'm here just for this.”

Kagome couldn't help but agree with his assessment of Kya's cooking. She was a talented chef, and she knew the older woman cost Sesshoumaru a pretty penny. A small grin crossed her face as she also sipped her tea – she was going to get every bit of enjoyment out of the situation she'd found herself in that she could, and that included getting the advantage of delicious meals anytime she was hungry.

But now that her stomach was full and content it was time to deal with other matters. Gracefully rising from her chair she met Inuyasha's questioning gaze with a nod. “I'm ready. I think we should take a walk in the gardens... as far from the house as possible,” she said cryptically.

That caused his brow to rise into his bangs; what could she want to talk about that she was trying so hard to keep Sesshoumaru or his bitch mother from finding out? Intrigued, Inuyasha nodded and rose from his seat, gesturing politely for her to precede him out of the dining area and towards the back entrance of the house.

Neither said a word until they were as far from it as you could get – which was actually pretty far, since the grounds were extensive and mostly landscaped. Finally finding a small fountain hidden in a maze of shrubs and trees with a bench before it, Kagome took a seat and looked up at Inuyasha, who was leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest and looking at her with expectation.

“So... what's up?” he prompted when she didn't say anything.

Gathering her thoughts, Kagome sighed and asked, “What can you tell me about... what taking a mate entails?”

Whatever the hanyou had been expecting it hadn't been that as his eyes widened in astonishment and he stood up, his arms falling limply to his sides as he stared at her, his mind rapidly passing from shocked to calculating. After a few moments of visibly gathering himself, he said, “Could you repeat that, so I know I'm not hearing things?” just to be sure of his conclusions.

Kagome was taken aback at his response – _Why is he so surprised by that question?_ \- and shook her head to clear it of her own surprise at his. “I need to know what taking a mate means. I just need to know everything you can tell me about that subject, okay?”

Inuyasha inhaled and then grinned inwardly. _Oh, this is going to be great..._ “Sesshoumaru wants to mate you,” he said, watching her carefully for her reaction.

Her lips tightened and her eyes flashed, and Inuyasha knew he'd hit the mark with his statement. “So he says,” she finally replied tightly.

“But you don't believe him.”

“No. I think he's up to something, probably business related, and for some reason he needs me to get whatever it is he's after. _But_ ,” she said, “just in case, I need to know what the playing field looks like, so to speak. I have to know anything you can tell me about what taking a mate means to an inuyoukai.”

Inuyasha nodded thoughtfully. “I can see your point. Be prepared for anything. Alright,” he agreed simply, folding his legs beneath him and falling easily to the grass to recline comfortably against the tree he'd been leaning against earlier. “First thing about mating you need to understand is that it can be dangerous for a human. A normal human is at the most risk, but I can tell that you're a miko, and a powerful one at that. The risk for you would be minimal, if there would be any at all. At least now,” he added with a frown as he thought of something. “But if he'd tried to mate you when you were younger, not at the peak of your strength, it probably _would_ have killed you.”

Blinking wildly, Kagome took that piece of information in with sudden stillness. _Wait... if he'd tried to mate me back then, I would have... died? Is it possible that was why he... no. No. It doesn't matter and it doesn't change anything. So I was too young to mate, if that was even what he was after, and I'm still not inclined to believe that it was, it still doesn't excuse his behavior towards me. With that, there's no way he wanted me as a mate – that's not how you treat someone you want to have with you for, well... forever._

“Okay, and... what else can you tell me?”

Shaken out of his own thoughts by her question, Inuyasha looked over at her. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Anyway, inuyoukai don't often take mates because of the depth of the bond. Most don't wish to be tied down that way. When one is taking a mate over simply getting married it means that the emotions between them are very strong. Most youkai will scoff when someone says the word 'love', but basically, for one to consider a mating there has to be a great deal of that very emotion felt towards the one they wish to mate. That's why I was so stunned when you asked me that... I never, ever in a million years would have expected that cold bastard to take a mate.”

“Wait... wasn't Kagura his mate? I thought she was,” Kagome asked, now confused.

“No,” the hanyou scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Kagura was his wife, not his mate. You probably heard the fairy tale of their 'great romance' from Satori, didn't you?”

A little too stunned to talk, Kagome just nodded, wide-eyed. _If they weren't in love... why were they together, and why was Satori making it out to be something it wasn't?_

“Okay, you've got to understand that I watched all this from the outside as it were, but with inside knowledge, so I knew a great deal about what was going on even though I wasn't living here. There's some things I don't know,” he cautioned, “but I'll tell you what I do.”

Again, Kagome simply nodded, waiting rather impatiently for the hanyou to begin his story.

“Sesshoumaru and Kagura met through Satori. As I'm sure you know, she was her godmother. The old bitch was completely taken with her, practically worshiped the ground the kaze walked on. And she was beautiful, cultured, and knew the ropes. Honestly, I think Sesshoumaru was as fond of her as he ever was about anything back then, and so he decided she'd make an acceptable wife. They married and a few years later they had Rin. The bastard doted on her from the moment she was born, and I think Sesshoumaru's affection for Kagura increased just because she'd given him his daughter.”

Inuyasha paused, and Kagome spoke up, looking thoughtful. “So why did Satori turn that into this 'grand romance' when telling me about it?”

“Probably to keep you from wanting anything to do with Sesshoumaru in that manner – for some reason she sees you as a threat to Kagura's memory.” Inuyasha grinned. “I can tell you this – the row those two probably engaged in when he suddenly brought you home as his new wife was most likely epic in its proportions. I wish I could have been there to see that...” he trailed off with a wistful grin.

Kagome chuckled. “Well, I've got something that's probably going to top that, and I'll tell you about it after we finish our current subject.”

The hanyou grinned wider and his eyes sparkled with excitement. “Seriously?”

“Yup. So sooner you finish telling me what I need to know the sooner you find out what's going to happen soon.”

“I've pretty much already told you everything. It's not really a complicated matter, it just seems that way to outsiders,” he replied with a light shrug.

Standing, Kagome began pacing as she took in what he'd told her and tried to match it up with her situation. And it just didn't, at least not from where she was standing. “Okay, so you're telling me that an inu won't take a mate for anything less than love,” she asked, her expression dubious.

“That's what I'm telling you.”

She threw her hands up in the air with frustration. “That doesn't make any sense! Sesshoumaru doesn't love me,” she scoffed, “so there has to be something else going on. Argh!” she yelled, irritated with the whole thing. “I wish I could just strangle him and get it over with!”

Inuyasha watched her pacing and muttering with furrowed brows as he tried to figure the situation out, as well. She was right – it didn't make sense. Sesshoumaru was a cold bastard, though – one of the coldest he'd ever met and that was really saying something, because _all_ youkai had an icy edge to one extent or another.

“Well, it _is_ Sesshoumaru that we're talking about here, so I wouldn't put anything past him,” he cautioned the woman practically oozing dislike as she stalked around the small glade busily, seemingly unable to stop moving in her frustration.

“Yes, but would even _he_ go so far as to mate someone he didn't have those strong feelings you mentioned for just for the upper hand in whatever scheme he's really working? I mean, even he has to have his limits, right?”

The hanyou snorted at that, but nonetheless he really thought about it. Finally he was forced to admit that he didn't believe even Sesshoumaru would go so far just for money. It wasn't even like he really needed it – he was one of the wealthiest people in the world, so...

“No, but that doesn't mean that you aren't right about there being something else going on. We just have to figure out what that is, and why he seems to need you for it,” he said thoughtfully, looking up at the sky as he let his mind study the game board, so to speak. “Honestly, trying to out-think that son-of-a-bitch is like playing chess against a grand master of the game. I think we need to start at the beginning if we're ever going to unravel this whole mess enough to level the playing field.”

Kagome blinked. “The beginning?”

He nodded, looking up at her. “Yeah. So we need to go back to the period of time right before he married you and find out what was going on – what circumstances back then led to where we are right now. Because the bottom line is that whatever scheme he's working on, it started then. It's what led to him marrying you in the first place. But in order to win this game we've got to catch up to the ass, because he's already quite a few moves ahead of us,” he finished, his voice oddly grim and his expression calculating.

“Hmm,” the young woman intoned, her voice light and pleasing to the hanyou's ears, as he noted in passing since his mind was fully occupied with the effort of trying to out-plot his brother. “And how are we going to do that?” she asked with a cocked brow. “I don't really have any access to anything about his life or business.”

Inuyasha grinned. “Leave that to me. I've got my ways of digging up that bastard's bones,” he quipped, making Kagome laugh. “You just concentrate on your side of it.” He eyed her speculatively, then. “So... what was it you were going to tell me?” he asked, wondering if it was something that might play into what they'd just been speaking of directly or only peripherally, because there was no odds it tied in somehow.

“Oh!” Kagome's face lit up mischievously, and Inuyasha sat forward a little to better hear her since she'd lowered her voice greatly, now even more intensely interested in hearing what she had to say. “You have to promise not to say anything to anyone about this.”

“Absolutely,” he agreed instantly, and watched with fascinated eyes as she looked around with her miko senses to make sure no one was close by. _Oh, this is going to be good, I just know it..._

“Okay. When Sesshoumaru married me, the terms of my father's will gave him control of my fortune until I turn twenty-five. That's why I've been forced to hold off on filing for a divorce. But it seems my lawyer has found a small loophole in father's will – if I could prove that I'm capable of handling my finances before a judge, then I could gain control of my fortune now and that would finally allow me to file for a divorce right away instead of having to wait,” she finished with a dangerous smirk and an excited air that told the hanyou everything he needed to know.

She was going to take Sesshoumaru _down_... and he definitely wanted to be part of that. Hell, he'd been wanting to see that happen since the day he'd found out that the asshole was his half-brother.

He began grinning. “So let me guess – you're keeping this quiet so that Sesshoumaru gets a beautiful right hook when he gets the summons to court and hits the ground hard, aren't you?”

“In a nutshell? Yes. I want to see the crater he makes when he hits the floor.”

The poor hanyou couldn't help it and went limp with laughter, because imagining the look on the arrogant son-of-a-bitch's face was endlessly entertaining and completely priceless.

“Oh, I _so_ hope I'm here when that happens,” was all he managed to get out, causing Kagome to dissolve into giggles right along with him.

Sesshoumaru wouldn't know what had hit him, and so far this was the best day of Inuyasha's life.

He was looking forward to some even better ones ahead, though... and so was Kagome.

~oOo~

When the two made it back to the house their good moods were soured a bit to find that there was company – and not any company that either cared to see. Nonetheless, Kagome decided to remain polite enough, sitting back and watching with calculating eyes as the woman she knew only as Kimiko from the party the other night hung all over Sesshoumaru.

There was a man with her, a relatively powerful houriki user and she studied him, wondering who he could be.

It was Inuyasha who answered that question. “So, Ryu, it's been a while,” he said, his manner friendly enough, surprising Kagome with that fact. It was clear he wasn't overly fond of Kimiko, but there didn't seem to be any real animosity towards the man.

“Indeed, Inuyasha,” he smiled. “And who have we here?” he asked, bowing charmingly in Kagome's direction.

Sesshoumaru answered before Kagome could. “This is my wife, Kagome,” he said with a slight edge of warning to his voice, to Kimiko's obvious displeasure.

“Unfortunately,” Kagome replied lightly enough though with her own warning tone that no one in the rather intimately small receiving room missed.

Ryu laughed easily. “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Kagome,” he smiled, a charming dimple peeking from one lean cheek. He was a handsome man, and the miko didn't miss that fact.

Sesshoumaru didn't miss her missing that fact, either. He frowned, removing himself from Kimiko's clinging grasp to move closer to his wife. He glanced at Ryu, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes for just a moment – but long enough for the monk to catch it.

Eyebrow rising as he studied the daiyoukai's body language carefully, he kept a straight face and glanced at Kimiko, wanting to see his half-sister's expression at the suddenly possessive aura coming from Sesshoumaru. Sure enough, a sour look was plastered on her face, marring its usual pretty lines.

He had to admit he was highly interested in the heavy undercurrents between the inuyoukai and his miko wife – which was in and of itself an unusual circumstance. He could count on one hand the number of such joinings all the way back to the Heian era, and that was saying something. And several of those hadn't had happy endings, such as Hoshiyomi and Tsukiyomi, but then again, that was more because of outside influences and not due to their racial differences so much.

Still, if what he was seeing and sensing from Sesshoumaru right now was really accurate, then things were going to get very interesting soon, because it was clear he was quite determined to keep his wife by his side – and looking at her, her own beautiful face marred by a small scowl being sent in his direction, she was equally as determined to stay as far away from him as possible.

He smirked slightly and sat back in his seat, getting comfortable.

This situation might just offer the best entertainment he'd had in years.

~oOo~

The delicate clink of a china teacup brushing against something was the only sound to be heard in the room, and the man standing before the great desk still bowing with respect and fear shivered as he waited for some acknowledgment of his report.

It came after a few moments of silence, moments that strung his nerves almost to breaking point.

“Continue watching and report anything else of interest,” the male sitting behind the desk said dismissively, and the man still bowing exhaled with relief.

“Yes, Muso-sama,” he replied before standing once more and leaving the room with alacrity. He was terrified of his boss, but the pay was too good to pass up, so he dealt with the fear and tried to stay out of his way as much as possible.

Muso watched with absent amusement as his lackey left his office, and then turned to look out of the window across the Tokyo skyline, his fingers steepled before him as he considered what the man had reported. It was greatly interesting to him.

_So the fool's fatal weakness has returned, has she? And she's dancing circles around him... that would be amusing to see. Perhaps now I can finish what I began those five years ago and finally see the end of that dog – and his little empire._

_I think I would like to meet this little provincial woman he's bound himself to..._

Pressing a button on the desk, he waited for his secretary to respond and then began issuing his orders. “The Yamaguchi function next week – send a reply that I will attend. Then contact Mishi-san and have her attend me... tomorrow. That is all.” After the woman's respectful acknowledgment, he aborted the call and sat back, looking pleased.

_Yes, indeed... this situation will be very interesting... and this time, fatal for the Lord of the West._

_This time, he will not escape my grasp._

~oOo~

Kagome startled a little as her phone rang, but then set down the book she was reading and picked it up, glancing at the caller id with little interest – until she noted who was calling, and then she picked up quite eagerly, hoping for good news.

“Hello, Kouga,” she greeted easily. “To what do I owe the honor?”

The male on the other end chuckled. “As if you didn't know. Want the good news or the good news first?”

She laughed. “You pick.”

“Okay. I've filed the papers for a court date and just received an answer. Due to the name behind the request, you've been given a date not too far out – right at the end of the month.”

Eyes widening in surprise, Kagome grinned and pumped one hand in the air triumphantly. “Yes! That's awesome, Kouga! So what else did you want to tell me?”

“Oh, the other good news. The case has been assigned to Judge Kagewaki – and he's notorious for ruling in favor of the petitioner with even the slightest reason for doing so. With your business acumen and the state of your finances at this time I'm giving you a ninety-eight percent chance of breaking your father's will – and thereby your husband's hold on you. How's that for good news?” he asked lightly, grinning to himself because he knew just how excited she was going to be by this information.

Indeed she was, and she jumped to her feet and danced around happily, unable to keep her jubilation to herself. It was a good thing that Sesshoumaru had disappeared earlier after their company had left and wasn't around to see her celebrating.

“Are you _serious_?! That's the best news I've heard in like... five years!” she exclaimed, giggling uncontrollably at the chance to not only gain her freedom, but knock the arrogant ass she'd been forced to marry down a few thousand pegs at the same time. “I can hardly believe it! Oh, I'm going to have so much trouble trying to keep my elation hidden from that bastard,” she laughed.

The ookami laughed again in return, pleased to be able to give such news to the woman. She definitely deserved it, and when he told his mate, Ayami would be excited, as well. They'd all been friends since Kagome had left Tokyo, and they both knew that this chance to escape Sesshoumaru's control would make the young woman happier than she'd been since her father had died and her entire world had been uprooted.

He'd been more than aware of the way the inuyoukai had treated the girl after their marriage, and he'd felt so sorry for her but been unable to do anything to assist her, since Sesshoumaru had control of her finances and thereby pretty much every aspect of her life. He'd applauded her spirit when she'd finally had enough and fled the male's influence, and he'd done every little thing he could to help her when she'd arrived in Auckland and begun her new life. That hadn't been much, unfortunately.

Still, Kagome was nothing if not determined, and she'd done very well on her own. He was proud of her, and he was looking forward to this whole debacle playing out. He could hardly wait to see the overly-arrogant inuyoukai's face when he lost all control of Kagome and her fortune. Paybacks were a bitch, after all, and nothing more than Sesshoumaru deserved.

“Yeah, I'm sure,” he said in response. “But I know how much you're looking forward to seeing his face when this all goes down, so I've got no doubts that you'll manage to hide it, even if it's hard.”

Sighing, Kagome finally calmed down and sat back down on her seat, smiling brightly at the pretty morning room she was in. At this point, she was so happy that the whole mansion suddenly seemed a lot more attractive than it ever had before.

Of course, that wasn't hurt by the fact that Sesshoumaru was nowhere around to bother her – and neither was Satori.

“True,” she cooed cheerfully. “I've gotten good at hiding things that I need to, so I'll do okay... but still, I'm going to be imagining the look on his face when he gets the papers in my dreams – probably for the rest of my life. Since he'll probably receive them in his study I won't get the chance to actually see it, unfortunately,” she said, her voice dimming a little with disappointment.

“Probably,” Kouga agreed. “But as soon as he picks his jaw up off the floor he'll probably come after you so you'll get a chance to see him blowing his top, anyway.”

Kagome brightened immediately. “That's true,” she returned. “Maybe the explosion will be big enough that he'll destroy this eyesore he lives in... that would be hilarious.”

“Too right,” Kouga laughed. “Well, I've got to let you go – I've got a client waiting. I'll see you in a few weeks, my dear!”

She grinned. “Sure thing, Kouga. Give my love to Ayame, and thanks for calling and letting me know!”

“You're welcome and I will. You should get the official summons sometime in the next week,” he added. “Bye, sweetie.”

“Bye, Kouga!”

Clicking off the phone once the call ended, she set it back down on the table and then sighed. Oh, the next few weeks were going to _drag_...

Glancing down at her book, she shook her head after a moment and stood up, preparing to leave the room and go looking to see if Inuyasha had returned. It was getting close to dinner, and she figured he'd be back by then at least. She couldn't gloat in the open like she wanted to, but she could drag her new cohort off and spill the good news to him. It might let enough steam off to help her calm down, because right now all she wanted to do was run through the mansion laughing her ass off.

Of course, if she did that, the staff – and Satori as well – would think she'd gone crazy... not that she really cared, but still.

She was able to ascertain after a few minutes that the hanyou hadn't in fact made it back yet, and unable to keep the news to herself any longer, she exited the house with her phone and headed for the outer gardens to call Sango.

By the time their talk was over she had calmed sufficiently to feel safe facing the other occupants of hell house, and she was able to present a calm demeanor throughout dinner, despite her so-called husband's annoying presence.

But inwardly she was gloating, and she couldn't help the jubilant thoughts making her spirit celebrate.

_Enjoy what control you have while you still have it, Sesshoumaru, because it isn't going to last. You're not going to know what hit you by the time this is all over!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kagome sighed, rolling her eyes sideways with irritation. Yet another boring, meaningless party that Sesshoumaru had dragged her to, and she really wasn't looking forward to the coming evening. She couldn't understand how the bastard could deal with all these empty social events, when he wasn't really all that fond of humans. Sure, he could deal with them, it wasn't like he had any choice since there were far more humans than youkai, but she'd never understood this odd-seeming dichotomy in his personality. He complained about meaningless socializing, and yet he continuously dragged himself – and her, unfortunately – to every party, ball, or dinner that he was invited to.

It made no sense!

Nonetheless, here they were yet again, about to enter another overdone mansion for another wasted night of hobnobbing with the stuck-up, pretentious 'high-flyers' of the society scene here in Tokyo. She'd rather be back home in Auckland working late to get the monthly reports done for her boss than where she was any day. _Heck, I'd rather be pretty much anywhere else but here. This is just torture._

The last two days had been oddly quiet, but that didn't comfort the little miko at all. Rather, it felt to her as though there was some darkness just over the horizon that was going to envelop her any moment. Every instinct she had was literally screaming at her that something very bad was rushing towards her like a freight train, and because of that, she was jumpy and edgy. She was actually surprised that Sesshoumaru hadn't mentioned her mood yet, but it was probably only a matter of time until he did. There was no way he'd continue to ignore a chance to needle her, so she forced herself to dig deep for the poise she'd gained so painfully, determined not to let him get to her.

She was pulled from her dark thoughts as a hand came up and grasped her elbow firmly, guiding her towards the doors thrown open to the night with blinding light pouring from the rooms behind them.

“You can let go now, Sesshoumaru,” she intoned coolly. “I'm neither blind nor stupid – I can see where to go quite well, thank you very much.”

The daiyoukai shot her an equally cool glance, though Kagome was slightly taken aback to see an odd light flash through his otherwise flat golden eyes. _What was that all about...?_ a distant part of her wondered, though she didn't linger on the question.

“I am very well aware of that, Kagome,” he responded evenly. “I'm also well-aware that if I didn't keep a chain on you, you'd ditch me as soon as possible and disappear. Since the point of all of this is to keep you with me, that would not suit my plans at all, my beloved wife,” he added with a cynical twist of his lips as he glanced down at her.

She snorted. “Beloved wife?” she scoffed with an incredulous glance sideways at him. “Come off it, Sesshoumaru. The only thing you've ever loved in your life is Rin, and we both know that, so there's no need to act the part of the devoted and loving husband. I'm not impressed.”

There was another odd flash in his eyes as she finished her statement, his enigmatic gaze causing her to frown slightly, suddenly even more uneasy. _Okay, what... ?_ She wasn't able to get any further before he spoke again.

“And perhaps you don't know me as well as you think you do, sweetheart,” he returned, still eyeing her. “How do you know whether my affections have ever been engaged, hm? Can you suddenly read minds?”

“Whatever,” she said as they stepped forward, finally entering the vividly bright ballroom as she readied herself to face their hosts for the evening. She wasn't certain who was hosting this event, not having cared enough to ask Sesshoumaru, but she was about to find out.

Not that it mattered.

She found her mind wandering as Sesshoumaru took care of the meaningless pleasantries, and looked around the ballroom, wondering if Inuyasha had arrived yet. She knew he was planning to attend, since she and his brother were going to, but they'd come separately, of course, since her erstwhile husband wasn't best pleased that the two of them got along so well. He tried everything he could think of to keep them apart, but Kagome was having none of it. What she did with her life, and who she befriended, was none of his business.

As her gaze slid over the gathering with little interest, her eyes were suddenly caught by glittering black ones – eyes that didn't look away but blatantly returned her own look with an intensely weighing, though definitely mocking, expression. She shivered; there was something about that gaze that left her feeling extremely wary.

The male it belonged to was certainly not human. Very attractive physically, with dark hair that matched his eyes, perfectly arranged features, and an obviously fit body, nonetheless Kagome felt nothing but suspicious and rather unnerved at the interest he was displaying in her. She felt even more wary of him than she did of Sesshoumaru, and that said a lot about the person behind that look, because there were very, very few people that she distrusted more than the male she'd been married off to.

As Sesshoumaru guided her further into the room and away from their hosts for the evening, Kagome leaned a little closer to him and asked quietly, “The male with the dark hair and black eyes-” she tilted her head discreetly towards him as the daiyoukai inclined his head to listen to her, “-the one who's staring – who is he?”

Despite the fact that Sesshoumaru was a bit surprised at the fact that she'd actually asked him a question, and without her usual bite, he glanced in the direction that his wife indicated, and immediately felt his hackles rise. He lifted his head and met the other male's gaze challengingly.

“His name is Muso. He is a... competitor of mine. But he has no honor, and I am almost positive he has his hands in the criminal element of our city.”

Kagome had no problem believing that. “Yakuza?”

“I believe he at the very least has ties to the Ryu Yakuza – if he isn't the head of it, that is,” he responded a little absently, still busy engaged in a visual form of warfare with the other male. “Stay away from him, Kagome,” he warned after a moment when Muso finally looked away, his voice for once serious, without any snide undertones. “He's dangerous. There have been... several odd disappearances of those that have become involved too closely with the hanyou.”

She merely nodded, not about to argue the point when her own instincts were screaming at her so strongly. “I'll do my best, though I'm sure at some point, with the way he was watching, that he'll attempt to speak to me.”

Sesshoumaru felt a surge of possessiveness and anger go through him at that remark, knowing it was true – and knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop just that from happening. After all, this was a social event, and socializing was sort of expected.

“Unfortunately, you are correct,” he murmured, brows turning down with irritation. “Just remember to take everything he says with _two_ grains of salt, and avoid him as much as possible.”

“I don't need you to tell me that,” she harrumphed. “As far as I'm concerned, anyone that my instincts scream is worse than you is definitely someone I don't want to know.”

The gloves were back off, apparently; Sesshoumaru bowed his head mockingly at her as he allowed her to pull her arm away from him. “I'm surprised that there is anyone in this world that you think is worse than this one,” he stated cynically.

“Yes, well,” Kagome retorted wryly, “don't get all excited, since I'm just as surprised.” She inclined her head coolly as her eyes swept the gathering again, finally catching sight of an amused Inuyasha watching her and his brother. She started forward, pleased that she wouldn't have to stand around and be entirely bored all night while Sesshoumaru rubbed elbows with every woman in the place.

The daiyoukai scowled as he caught sight of where his wife was headed, but before he could follow he was surrounded by a group of those same twittering women and a few business acquaintances, leaving him unable to do anything about her choice in companions for the time being. That didn't mean the matter was forgotten; as soon as they arrived home he would once more warn his brother to back off.

Maybe this time he'd have to use force, since he'd already warned the whelp once.

That thought didn't bother him at all – he'd been longing to get his hands around his sibling's neck for years, but hadn't had a good enough excuse to hand his daughter for doing so.

This time he did.

~oOo~

“What did you say to the bastard to put that look on his face?”

Kagome chuckled as she came to a stop in front of Inuyasha, thanking him silently with a smile for the glass of wine he handed her. She took a small sip, and then said, “I didn't put that look on his face this time, it was some guy he called Muso who was staring at me quite-” she frowned, “-blatantly. There's something about that guy I don't like,” she trailed off slowly.

“There ain't many people I trust less than the icy prick,” Inuyasha began, now also frowning, “but Muso's one of them. I didn't expect to see him at something like this – he rarely ever bothers accepting the invitations he gets. I don't like it – he's up to something. You said he was staring at you?”

“As soon as we walked in the doors, actually,” she answered, taking another small drink of her wine. “He was quite blatant, and he stared at me for several minutes – until I pointed him out to Sesshoumaru, and he started glaring at the guy. Then he locked gazes with your brother for a while, before finally looking away when someone spoke to him.”

Inuyasha scowled. “I hate to say it, but Muso's a much bigger bastard than Sesshoumaru. He's dangerous. Be very wary of anything he says or does, okay? And watch your back.”

Eyeing the silver-haired hanyou assessingly, Kagome nodded thoughtfully. “Do you know anything specific, or is it just guesses? Sesshoumaru seems to believe he's yakuza, and while I could definitely see that, is it actually true, or just supposition?”

“Oh, it's true, though of course there's no _evidence_. He's been accused a few times, but – no surprise - every time he's investigated the person doing the accusing suddenly disappears, and the police are left with no choice but to drop the investigation. You know how that goes.”

“Hmm. Lovely. I'm surprised that Sesshoumaru hasn't made _him_ 'disappear', if you know what I mean,” Kagome replied.

Inuyasha chuckled heavily. “Oh, believe me – he's just looking for any excuse to do so. Muso's powerful and murderous, but he's still no match for the bastard physically. But he's a spider hanyou, and he does what spiders do best – sneak. In fact,” his voice turned contemplative, “there were some odd things that happened with Sesshoumaru a few years ago that I suspected the spider had a hand in, but I couldn't prove it, and my ass of a brother would never speak of the circumstances, so I just filed it away and forgot about it.”

“Odd things?” the miko asked. “Isn't everything he does odd?”

A laugh answered her. “Okay, you've got a point, but I mean _really_ odd. You know how controlled Sesshoumaru is. But that year... well, it was totally strange. It was like he was... barely holding onto himself. I don't know how many times he came close to killing anyone who agitated him in any way.” A dark look crossed Inuyasha's face. “I may not like the bastard I'm stuck with as a brother, but if what I suspect was done to him really was, then I have to give him some respect for his strength in _not_ going off and destroying half of Tokyo, because anyone else would have lost themselves to their youkai blood and kami help whoever or whatever was caught in their way.”

Curious now and somewhat concerned, as well, Kagome opened her mouth to ask Inuyasha to explain what he was talking about when a smooth, yet somehow oily voice spoke up from behind her, and she instantly tensed and turned, knowing exactly who it was even before she laid eyes on him.

“Well, well... if it isn't the hanyou Inuyasha. I'm surprised to see you here, since you don't bother to attend these functions very often,” the dark-eyed male said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, wondering how he'd react to the barely hidden taunt. _Hanyou? Didn't Sesshoumaru say you're a hanyou, too?_ she wondered, actually a little insulted on Inuyasha's behalf.

The inuhanyou, however, merely smiled, a jagged parody of a polite expression that sad oddly on his handsome face. “And if it isn't the hanyou Muso,” he returned coolly. “I'm also surprised to see you at this... _function_ , since you don't tend to bother with them, either. So what was the draw this time, I wonder?” he finished cynically, glancing rather obviously at a fascinated yet repulsed Kagome.

A flash of anger went through Muso's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came and he was once more blandly calm. “You've caught me out, I admit. Who wouldn't want to meet the woman that Sesshoumaru went so crazy over, hmm? Since, of course, I didn't get the chance before.” He finally met Kagome's slightly narrow eyes with a knowing smile. “I must say, I can certainly understand his reaction – you are very beautiful,” he bowed mockingly.

“Please,” she scoffed after a moment, not amused. “Sesshoumaru's never gone 'crazy' over a woman in his entire life. The only thing that affects him that way is blood... or business. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a shark, not an inu.”

The male she so far knew only as Muso chuckled, and even though she hadn't meant it to be funny, she had to admit that it really was, since it described her 'husband' to a 'T'.

“It seems there are a few problems in paradise,” he said blatantly, not at all seeming to be bothered by saying such things in so open a manner – and in mixed company. “How... interesting...”

But before Kagome could say anything to rebuff his rude and rather forward statement, Inuyasha did.

“Keh. And if there is, it's none of your business, Muso,” he shot back at the other male with an edge to his voice none could possibly miss. “Whatever trouble your planning on indulging yourself in won't do you any good, so you can just go back to wherever you came from and continue avoiding these parties – no one here is going to miss your presence at all.”

A sleek, dark brow tilting arrogantly into his bangs, Muso smirked at Inuyasha. “I would think they'd prefer to see the last of _you,_ mutt,” he returned mildly, then dismissed him with a look. “You may run along now – you aren't needed here, I assure you.”

Now it was Kagome's turn to interrupt before Inuyasha could get a word in edgewise. “Actually,” she began coldly, taking her friend's arm, “Neither of us are needed here, so we'll both just be going.” That said, she turned and led a quietly snickering inuhanyou away, not paying a whit of attention to the anger she could feel pouring from the aura of the male she'd just so publicly snubbed.

Across the room, her husband was watching, and would have been much more amused by his little wife's move – if she hadn't been wrapped around his half-brother's arm when she'd made it. Still, to see Muso's normally unbreakable cool front cracked like that in front of an entire ballroom of people was quite fulfilling, he had to admit.

_I wonder what she said to him?_

A satisfied air surrounded him as he silently watched Muso slip out of the ballroom - though it was tinged with a definite feeling of wariness because he was pretty sure the bastard was up to something again, and he really didn't need that kind of complication on top of what he was already dealing with in trying to tame his little, runaway wife. Maybe he should just kill him already and finally get it over with...

~oOo~

“Sesshoumaru,” Kikyou pouted, grasping his arm and clinging tightly to it, “why are you ignoring me?”

The daiyoukai looked down at the woman trying to entice him into her bed with jaded cynicism. She was just like every other female at this party – except his own wife, of course – who would do just about anything to get down his pants. And dip into his bank accounts, all while trying to entice – or trap – him into marrying them so they could get their greedy fingers even deeper into his money, and gloat about their supposed 'conquest' of the so-far unconquerable male they all lusted over.

 _And yet the one woman I want on my arm is the one woman who doesn't want to be there, and who'd do just about anything to get away from me entirely,_ he chuckled inwardly almost wearily. With a barely audible sigh, he detached his arm from the female trying to monopolize his attention and stepped back, tired of being crowded by opportunistic women.

“I am not ignoring you, Kikyou,” he replied blandly, “otherwise I would not now be speaking to you. However, I am not in the mood for flirty females trying to climb inside my skin with me. Have you perhaps forgotten that I am a married male?” he asked, with a rather sarcastic glance in his wife's direction.

Kikyou scowled. “I could ask you the same question,” she sniped. “You've been married to the wench for over five years, and yet you're only just seeming to notice that fact now.”

He smiled with a bored tilt to his lips that his companion didn't miss. “We've been estranged, living in separate countries and leading our own lives. That was then and this is now, and _now_ we are no longer separated, we are living together again. Since that is the case, I no longer have any need for other females.”

“Really, Sesshoumaru,” she laughed, her voice brittle, “who are you trying to fool? It's more than obvious that Kagome doesn't want to be here. Whatever you're scheming, it's clear she wants no part of it or of you. In fact, it seems to me that she's not so worried about being faithful - she certainly looks to be... _enjoying_ Inuyasha's company a great deal more than she does your own. So why should you remain faithful to something she isn't? Besides, if you just divorced the little strumpet and got it over with, you wouldn't be considered 'unfaithful', would you?” Then she rolled her eyes. “And besides – it's not as if you were overly worried about cheating on her when you first married her, now were you?” she pointed out snidely, not above reminding him of the first year of his so-called marriage, when he pretty much slept with anyone he wanted despite having a new wife.

Lips thinning dangerously, Sesshoumaru snapped a look filled with warning at the woman, who inhaled in surprise and stepped back, suddenly wary. “That was then, and things are not the same now as they were at that time. You can stop hoping to one day con your way into a wedding ring from me - I am married to Kagome, and understand one thing – there will be no divorce. Ever. Are we clear?”

Dismayed, the petulant woman watched with angry eyes as the gorgeous daiyoukai inclined his head rather mockingly at her and turned away, slowly making his way towards where Kagome had led Inuyasha after snubbing Muso. She burned with jealousy and hatred towards her cousin, and wanted nothing more than to see the bitch humiliated as she ran back to her little bolthole in Auckland permanently.

Her eyes narrowed and her face twisted very unattractively, had she but known it, Kikyou watched Kagome laugh lightly at something that Inuyasha said and seethed impotently.

 _Why does she get everything I deserve? The Higurashi money... and Sesshoumaru, too? It's not right! One of these days, Kagome, I'll figure out how to make you pay for taking everything I wanted from me,_ she thought spitefully. _One of these days..._

~oOo~

Grinning delightedly at the crooked smile decorating Inuyasha's face, Kagome batted her eyelashes at him, causing him to break out into low chuckles as he enjoyed her antics. He still couldn't believe that his icicle of a brother had not only found this woman, but then married her – even considering that it had supposedly been a business decision. She was just so alive and playful and sweet – as unlike his ass of a brother as anyone was likely to get.

But he could definitely see the fascination, and he certainly had no problem believing that the bastard wanted more from his wife than a fake marriage. _But what, exactly? So he wants her in his bed – that's no surprise – but is that all he's after? Or is there something more?_ Always suspicious of Sesshoumaru, he couldn't help but wonder. And then he grinned inwardly. _Not that it seems to matter, because Kagome's just as determined to get away from him as he is that she won't._

He came back to his current surroundings as the young woman snickered, then tilted her head discreetly and said, “Did you see that?” she whispered, knowing he'd hear her even over the buzz of conversation around them. “Kikyou just basically got verbally slapped, and by Sesshoumaru no less. Wonder what he said to her to put that sour expression on her face?”

Inuyasha laughed aloud. “I don't know, but I can guess, and it probably had something to do with you, because that glare she's wearing is pointed right at your heart like she'd like to rip it out. Whatever it was, I'm sure she deserved it.”

“There's no probably about it – she definitely deserved it,” Kagome giggled – and then she sighed, her smile becoming cooler and forced. “Yes, Sesshoumaru?”

Not surprised that his ass of a brother had searched them out, Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at him for a second and then turned back to Kagome and waited for whatever he was going to say.

Sesshoumaru shot a look at his brother but didn't say anything to him, instead addressing Kagome as he stepped forward and joined them. “May I ask what it was you said to Muso that upset him so much?” he asked, meeting her gaze with nothing combative hiding in his eyes, surprising her.

“I didn't really say that much to him – but when he tried to dismiss Inuyasha so rudely by intimating that he wasn't needed there any longer in an effort to get me alone, I replied that neither of us were, and then we turned and left,” she answered slowly, her head tilted questioningly. “Why?”

“Hn. Because now you have made an enemy of the hanyou, and I will need to take measures to protect you from him,” he replied, looking over her head out the window as he considered Muso's likely response to being snubbed and humiliated so publicly.

“Seriously, Sesshoumaru,” Kagome began dubiously, “aren't you being a little ridiculous here?”

“Much as I hate agreeing with the bastard about anything, he's right to be concerned,” Inuyasha said seriously. “Muso's a megalomaniac, and you've definitely put yourself on his shit list, Kagome.”

Still looking disbelieving, she started to say something when Sesshoumaru spoke up. “Remember what I told you of his ties to the yakuza. He's like any other murderous criminal – he doesn't deal well with anything or anyone that doesn't fall perfectly into line with his desires. That is why he hates this one so much – because he has never been able to defeat me on any battlefield we have ever met on. I cannot stress it enough – he's dangerous, and you need to be on your guard against him at all times.”

“Hm,” she finally said, looking at both brothers, who were oddly united over their dislike of the dark hanyou. “Well, if he tries anything, then I'll just have to purify him a bit and see how he likes it.”

A quirked brow met that statement. “You have gained control of your reiki?” he asked, a little surprised. After all, she'd never bothered training it before, refusing to be pushed into taking up the mantle of a true miko when she was younger.

Kagome smiled a little bitterly, looking pointedly at him. “After what you and the rest of Tokyo society put me through, and the little threats and tortures that the youkai half of the high-flyers threw at me, I decided that it was a matter of self-preservation. Don't worry, Sesshoumaru – I'm quite proficient and comfortable with my power now. I'm not the same helpless little twit I was before.”

The daiyoukai's lips turned down for a moment but then straightened again. “That is good to know, my dear. However, I believe I am ready to leave, so you must excuse yourself,” he stated blandly with an ironic little half-bow in his brother's direction. “It's not as if you won't see him at home, true?”

Inuyasha grinned impudently at his irritated brother. “Very true. Go on, Kagome – don't keep the ice-prick waiting. I believe I've seen enough this evening, as well. I'll see you back at that hell-hole he calls a home in a little while.”

A little surprised, Kagome nonetheless followed Sesshoumaru from the ballroom at Inuyasha's urging, although she couldn't help but to wonder why he wanted to leave the party so early. As far as she was aware, this was most definitely a first for him.

As the silence lengthened, however, she became unwillingly concerned. Was something wrong?

“Sesshoumaru?”

He glanced at her as they waited for the valet to retrieve their car. “Yes?”

“Are... you okay?”

“Careful, Kagome, you almost sounded like a caring, concerned wife there for a moment,” he finally replied, his voice heavy with irony. And then he sighed, the ambiguity of that sound coming from him halting the irritable response she was about to throw back at him, leaving her staring at him with increasing concern. “I simply have much on my mind. I will be fine.”

Not sure she quite believed him, nonetheless she went along with his denial, letting the subject drop as the car pulled up in front of them and the valet got out. But within the silence of her own mind, she couldn't help but to wonder...

_I've never heard him sound like that, or look that way, either. He looked... so tired for a minute there..._

_Could something really be wrong with him?_

Uncertain, suddenly Kagome found herself reevaluating his possible reasons for his seemingly insane demands of her lately.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, hopefully I'm back, though no guarantees. Needless to say, this last year has been one of the hardest I've ever been through, and with the life I've had, that's saying a hell of a lot. Several serious injuries, including head injuries, have affected my health, memory, and even my muse, leaving me almost unable to write. In fact, I've only started writing again in the last six weeks or so, and it's slow going. But I'm trying, and I hope that my writing skills haven't totally deserted me and that everyone enjoys this chapter.
> 
> Amber


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The distant sound of traffic echoed eerily through the fog lightly floating through the darkened, refuse-choked alley, though it wasn't loud enough to cloak the odd, almost insectile hissing sound coming from deeper within its maze-like depths – nor was the fog thick enough to overpower the strangely dark, poisonous-smelling cloud that drifted from within it, either.

 _That little human bitch!_ Muso snarled inwardly, still angry at the presumptuous wench that his nemesis had married. His fingers curled into his palm, the claws tipping them drawing his blood, though he didn't even seem to notice as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to regain control of his temper - _before_ unlocking and stepping through the door he was pacing in front of.

He'd been fuming since he'd left the Aonoma's estate earlier. No one had managed to enrage him so much in centuries, and it was only made worse by the fact that he'd found himself highly attracted to the female in question as soon as he'd laid eyes on her. That was not something he'd expected from the stories he'd heard of her five years ago. Of course, the five years between seventeen and twenty-two were very big formative years, for humans. She had obviously grown up, though he still found it hard to believe she was the same woman he'd heard such derogative things of.

He drew in another breath and finally was able to unclench his fists, the poisonous miasma he was leaking slowly fading away as his temper cooled. His eyes flashed as his aura settled once again, and a small frown creased his brow as he pulled a key from his pocket and inserted it into the door in front of him. Despite the rather decrepit appearance of the door, the lock turned easily and almost completely silently, giving away its well-oiled status as the dented and dirty steel swung open just as quietly, allowing him to step inside and then shut the door behind him without alerting anyone else in the building to his entrance.

Not that he wasn't expected. However, he rarely ever gave a firm time of arrival, preferring to surprise those expecting him; it gave him the chance to listen in to those awaiting him without their knowledge. He'd found out some very interesting things in just that manner several times, and he wasn't one to give up any advantage he could get. The more he knew, and the less his associates knew that he knew, the better.

He slipped silently through the storage facility, one of many that the ryu yakuza used to move their stolen and/or illegal wares through the city, his ears tuned to the murmurs coming from the only lighted area in the cavernous room. A sinister grin slid across his face as the voices became clear.

“... spyin' on one of the akuma areas just like you told me to, boss. You know the one. They're using it as some sort of chemical lab. Drugs, of course, though maybe other things, as well. But they've set up close to our own operations, and I'm betting their trying to oust us by slowly moving in on our territory.”

“Yes, Kino,” another voice drawled, “I am aware of that. I plan to take care of that little problem very shortly. A nice fire should be quite effective in running them out of the area.”

 _Hmm..._ Muso stepped around the crates hiding the men from him and spoke, startling them as guns appeared in hands with impeccable speed, only to disappear again when the men realized who was addressing them.

“Burning them out is a little... short-sighted, Hide, don't you think?”

“What do you mean?” the man addressed as Hide asked, his brow furrowing a little angrily at the surprise and interruption, though he would never dare to cross Muso, and they all knew it.

The hanyou chuckled, well aware of the men's dislike and fear of him, and amused by it - and their struggle to hide it. “Why destroy perfectly good lab facilities that our rivals have so generously set up for us, and even paid for? Perhaps you should instead plan to steal it out from under their noses.”

The several men in the room with him blinked, then looked at each other thoughtfully as the idea took hold in their minds. Muso was even more entertained by the sudden tension in the room, however, as he moved further into the light, pulling their thoughts from his idea to the very real danger he represented. It was clear they were all very wary of him.

That was just as he liked it – the taste of fear on his tongue was very pleasurable, and he savored it like the most expensive fine wine as it slid across his sensitive palate.

He smiled, the expression only increasing said tension, as he was fully aware. “And who knows what else they might be hiding there – we may get lucky and gain even more than just another production and distribution area. Destruction should be a... last resort, so to speak. One used only if a take-over is not possible or useful.”

“But the place would only be destroyed by a fight – it's not like they'll just hand it over and walk away. And that would also draw the police,” Kino protested, tossing his cigarette on the floor and stepping on it. “What good would that do us?”

Muso chuckled. “There are ways. A straightforward attack is rarely the best option – it is too easy to defend against. But they can hardly defend themselves against something they have no idea is coming.”

Hide met Muso's gaze for a moment and then nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he glanced at their so-far silent associate before speaking. “I will... take that into consideration. Perhaps a way can be found...” he trailed off as the silent man stood up from where he'd been leaning and looked at him again, wondering if he was finally going to say something.

However, the man said not a word, merely bowed his head slightly to Muso and then turned and faded out of sight into the depths of the warehouse, leaving a deep silence behind him that lasted for several long seconds.

Finally, when Muso himself made no move to say anything else, the other two men decided it was time to move on to the topic that he had summoned them there for.

“Why'd you call us here, anyway?”

At that, the hanyou turned his head and regarded the speaker steadily but with a bland expression that made both men extremely nervous. After several seconds, well aware of the reaction of his associates though he did not respond openly, he said, “Taisho Industries, and Nishisama, Sesshoumaru. I want you to halt all schemes against him and his holdings.”

Deeply surprised, Hide and Kino stared at him, then glanced with confused expressions at each other, both stiffening uncertainly as they took in something they'd never expected to hear from that particular source.

“Ano... why?” Hide asked carefully, aware that he was stepping on dangerous ground. There was no one else on earth that Muso hated more than Nishisama, Sesshoumaru.

Turning around and preparing to leave, the hanyou looked back over his shoulder for a moment. “Because I told you to. Do not worry, though,” he finished mockingly, “the halt is only temporary.”

Then he turned his head back around and slipped away, disappearing as fast as he'd appeared earlier, and leaving a confused and irritated couple of men behind him. They hated being answerable to anyone, but Muso was too dangerous for even them to cross, and they knew it. And so he ordered them around like they were his lackeys and they could do nothing but obey, despite the fact that his orders would actually cut into a good portion of their profits, even if it was only temporarily as he'd claimed.

Muso chuckled to himself as he let himself back out into the cooling night air. _I know you suspect I am coming, Sesshoumaru, but you won't know where from when... and that means you won't be able to stop me._

_By the time I'm done with you, you will be dead, and your little empire destroyed._

He thought of the bastard dog's wife, and a frisson of angered desire went up his spine. He grinned, the expression far more menacing than any that had crossed his face so far that night.

 _And your wife... will be mine. I will greatly enjoy forcing her very unwilling submission, and teaching her her permanent place._ He licked his lips. _I can hardly wait to get started on her... in fact, maybe I can find a way to make you watch me do just that – right before I finally kill you._

That would be the ultimate victory over his hated enemy, and Muso began thinking on just how to go about that as he disappeared into the darkness that swirled so welcomingly around him.

~oOo~

The car ride back to Sesshounaru's mansion was quiet, which wasn't an unusual state. It was also more than usually tense, which had Kagome concerned. What was the male beside her thinking about so hard?

She glanced at him surreptitiously, taking in a mask like that of a sullen angel. He was such a beautiful male, she reluctantly admitted to herself. She'd never met another being as beautiful – at least outwardly. She frowned slightly down at her hands, displeased with that train of thought, but still unable to deny it. _It's just too bad he's such a bastard – to anyone that's not his daughter, anyway. If he hadn't been so horrible things could have been so different five years ago, and even now. But he'll never change,_ she sighed inwardly, oddly sad at that thought as it passed across her mind, and then annoyed at herself for even caring. She deliberately choked that line of thought off. _Oh, well, it's not my problem,_ she thought dismissively, pushing that disconcerting topic off of a conveniently placed mental cliff and promptly forgetting it – at least out in front.

“What's eating you?” she asked lightly.

Sesshoumaru pulled himself back from his own dark thoughts and shot an assessing glance her way as he waited for traffic to begin moving again. “Careful, Kagome. You might actually make me think you really do care,” he replied cynically. But before she could respond to that, he continued. “I am considering Muso and the myriad ways he might... react to tonight's humiliation. And in what ways I might counter him and protect you from his grasp.”

A strange thrill of guilt passed swiftly across her skin, leaving goosebumps behind at his statement, but then she scowled at herself for it. “Don't hurt yourself, Sesshoumaru,” she returned just as cynically. “You never put out much effort on defending me before so why bother now? Especially since most of the torment I went through was all your fault, anyway. I survived you, and I'll survive Muso, too.”

Hands clenching around the steering wheel, the daiyoukai gritted his teeth, knowing he deserved her words. They were only true. However, the woman beside him had absolutely no idea that was because it had taken every last bit of his control to protect her from himself. He frowned inwardly as he thought of that first year of their marriage, and the constant and unrelenting pain he'd lived with – all because he'd refused to touch her. He had no idea how he'd managed to hide it from everyone around him, but he'd done it – at great cost, obviously, or his wife wouldn't now hate and despise him. A weary but silent sigh left his lips as he allowed himself to contemplate the last six years of his life, and the mess he'd made of it. He'd had no choice, though... it had been that or end up a widow, mating her before she could survive it.

Despite his almost debilitating need to take her, he _knew_ she was not ready, and he would never risk her life like that. He couldn't.

It had been like that since the moment he'd first seen her.

He'd been visiting her father at home at their shrine when she'd come in from school, rosy-cheeked and so vitally _alive_ that he'd been captivated instantly – and he'd fled their home in shocked dismay at what he'd immediately known his response to her meant.

Then a scowl crossed his face. He'd known the hell he was going to go through because of her age, that she was too young to withstand the power that would be released in their permanent joining. But he'd been unable to contemplate leaving her alone to grow more, the fear that she'd marry someone else before he could woo her too strong and unrelenting for him to ignore. However... no one had ever told him just how debilitating the constant, gnawing hunger for her would be. He'd never had reason to question his normally impeccable control before, and it had simply not occurred to him the lengths his pain would drive him to. How he'd managed to keep from destroying the city and everything in it he had no idea, though he had his suspicions that someone else had had a hand in the severity of his loss of control...

Muso.

_That bastard..._

His scowl deepened.

“This is not the same thing, Kagome. I would never harm or kill you, nor even lay my hands upon you with such intent, but Muso will have no such qualms. You have no idea of what you've let yourself in for,” he bit out, angry at her lumping him in with that bastard, though he knew she really had no idea just how truly _evil_ the hanyou really was.

Kagome just looked at him, her normally expressive eyes and features oddly impassive and opaque, hiding her true thoughts from him. Even her scent had changed, becoming strangely bland. _She must be shielding herself,_ he thought in passing.

 _He's completely serious,_ the young woman realized as he pulled into the drive of the mansion and pushed a small button on the overhead visor to open the gate. _Is that male really such a danger to me, and over something so petty?_ She shivered inwardly at the disconcerting thought that her life could be in danger just because of such a stupid thing. She found it hard to imagine – people had said many derogative things to her, made her life a living hell, but she'd never wanted to _kill_ any of them. What sort of person _was_ this Muso that he carried such hatred and disregard for others?

“Well, if worst comes to worst, I'm not defenseless, you know,” she finally replied. The sudden feel of powerful reiki manifested for a few seconds inside the car as it slid to a stop in the garage complex, then dissipated rapidly before Sesshoumaru could react.

That lack of response only lasted for a few seconds, however, before the truth of what he was showed itself with terrifying speed as his eyes reddened and his markings went jagged. Kagome's eyes widened impossibly as the true beast that was the male she was technically married to revealed itself, stunned speechless. He'd never lost that much of his control in front of her before, and she froze, uncertain how to respond.

Sesshoumaru could take no more. With a rapidity Kagome'd known he was capable of but had never seen before, he'd unbuckled himself and her from their seats, and then almost yanked her head around to take her lips in a kiss with an edge so desperate that it shocked her to her core, leaving her unable to respond with her usual rancor towards any attempt of his to touch her.

It was his only saving grace. If she had tried to fight him, he would have lost all of his hard-won control and taken her right then and there, with or without her consent.

And he never wanted that. _Never._

Still, in that moment he wasn't able to feel remorse for this smaller assault on her. He'd wanted her for too long, _needed_ her for too long not to take what little he could get. This was a small price to pay, he felt in some dark corner of his mind, for the consideration and the tolerance he had shown at the need to wait to finalize his full possession of her due to her age and untrained state. He had never waited for anything before. He was the Lord of the West, and he took what he wanted, when he wanted it.

But not her.

With that understanding perhaps it was not so surprising that he lost himself in her faster than he'd ever known he could go under, forgetting of a moment the anger he would soon face for his actions.

 _She tastes as sweet... as I always knew she would,_ was his only disjointed thought before throwing himself into the river of fire that swept through him in a scalding rush at her touch and taste, the feel of her against him. It left him operating on nothing more than instinct and that strange, sharp-edged, desperate sense of _need_ he'd always felt in her presence. Need that constantly prowled and paced under his skin like a restless tiger in a cage, but was finally, for the very first time, being released to feed.

It was all the more dangerous for that same, maddening repression. And thus it was that Kagome was swept under as quickly as Sesshoumaru had been, losing her first true kiss to him without even a protest.

A small, dark part of Kagome wanted to hate the male she'd been married to in that moment, more than she'd ever wanted to hate anything in her life. Because the instant and rather painful shaming thought that came to her was, _If only he hadn't been such a bastard back then, this is what we could have had..._ Not, as she wished fervently that she could truthfully say, that she hated his _touch_.

Because she didn't.

It was so strong, that feel of him against her, like a huge wave sweeping over her and dragging her under even as it infuriated her. It stole her breath, stole her thoughts, stole her _sanity_. But the worst part was that in that moment she _didn't care._ His lips took hers and she froze for only a few seconds before taking his kiss _and_ him, heat snapping and crackling in the air around them in an almost visible display of power, rage, and lustful desperation.

They were broken apart moments or centuries later, neither could tell, by the sound of someone outside the car loudly and rather obnoxiously clearing their throat.

Kagome glared at her husband for a silent eternity, chest heaving, before slapping him as her face went from pale to flushed with temper in a heartbeat. Then, with one last fulminating glare, she fled the car, too upset to acknowledge the person who'd interrupted.

Once she'd disappeared towards the house, Inuyasha leaned into the open door of the car and stared flatly at his brother.

“Taken to forcing yourself on females now, bastard?”

~oOo~

Tears of rage nearly blinding her, Kagome stormed towards the stairs that led from the underground garage to the upper levels of the manor, more furious than she could ever remember being in her entire life. This even surpassed what he'd done to her five years ago, as far as she was concerned. _How dared he!_ He had no right to touch her! _Ever!!_

She refused to acknowledge her own response to his advance, even in the back of her mind, content at this point to blame it all on him. No matter that heat was still singing through her, her body feeling more alive than it ever had before even as she fled the scene in flustered, and somewhat belated, consternation.

Fists clenching as she finally reached her bedroom and spun into the room, slamming the door behind her as though all the hounds of hell were after her she stared inimically at it, her glare so intense she almost appeared to be looking right through it. Lips and brows drawn down in a heavy scowl, she practically shook as she tried to contain all that she was feeling in her small frame, before finally giving the effort up as a lost cause.

Then she began cursing.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru stepped into his suite of rooms twenty minutes later, his temper still clawing at his control as he fought against the desire to go find his half-brother again and kill him. He snarled angrily as the door swung closed behind him, for once not caring about the loud slamming sound it made as it met the frame with much more force than necessary.

Despite his extreme dislike for his half-brother, he hadn't felt such a desire to truly take his life in many years. But now... now he wanted the bastard dead, and it had taken all of his control not to eviscerate him for his interference – and his words. The only thing that had held him back was the reaction he knew Kagome would have if he did, not to mention his daughter.

As if he would ever force himself on a woman – as if he'd ever need to do so! Kagome was the only female that had ever denied him. Any other would have immediately been on the their back offering him anything he chose to take, as had already been proven many times. If that _weren't_ the case, his wife wouldn't hate him as much as she did.

And despite her mistrust of him and his motivations, despite his desperate need of her, he still would never want to hurt her. That was _why_ he had done the things he had in the past – he'd practically ended up crippling himself towards the end of that first year of their marriage to avoid taking her in spite of her age. There had even been several times that he had been forced to actually lock himself away during her fertile cycle to keep himself from harming her. In some ways, it had almost been a relief when she'd finally run.

He was not human. This was an indisputable fact, but too many humans even in this day and age didn't really _understand_ the differences. And that was why he was where he was right this moment – once again in almost debilitating pain because of her and the sheer, overwhelming _need_ crawling over his skin, biting at him with vicious fangs and tearing at his sanity.

Clawed hands clenching at his sides, Sesshoumaru groaned as his body screamed at him and his eyes fell closed as he fought with himself yet again to keep from going to Kagome and throwing himself at her. He would wait until she was ready to be his, no matter how much agony it caused him.

Crimson light spilled across the floor as the red eyes of the beast opened and a wicked, wicked smirk crossed his face.

That didn't mean that he wouldn't... encourage and precipitate her capitulation. Because if this night's events had done nothing else, they had given him all he needed to know that she would eventually do so.

She had responded to him... even if she didn't want to want him, she did, and he would take that and build on it, no matter how hard she fought him. He felt no remorse over that fact, either, for it wouldn't be force, merely subversion, and all was fair in love and war.

His eyes narrowed, then, and he crossed the room to look contemplatively out the balcony doors at the night sky, mostly hidden now due to the patchy fog rolling into the area.

Now all he had to do was figure out how to get his brother out of the way without actually harming him – and how to make sure that Muso didn't get his tentacles on Kagome.

A faint scowl touched his lips at that thought.

_Nothing is ever easy, is it?_

~oOo~

Slipping his hands into his pockets as he stood at the balustrade of his balcony, Inuyasha stared across the Tokyo skyline at the fog slowly rolling in with a deeply thoughtful expression on his face. Most of the day had been quite boring – but the last half hour or so of it had been _extremely_ interesting.

 _Keh. All those years spent disdaining me for having a human mother, hating father for mating a human... and now look at the bastard._ He chuckled, the sound full of irony. _In love with a human. So much for 'humans, why love them?'_

When the bastard had asked him that the first time he'd chosen to protect a human against the full youkai, he'd spit acid at his brother's mockery of him, for that's all his words had been – a mockery. And in all the years since, Sesshoumaru had never given him or anyone else any reason to believe he was capable of loving anything but his daughter. But as he'd already told Kagome, a youkai wouldn't think of taking a mate without feeling a great deal of that very emotion towards the one in question. That was why he'd been so shocked when she'd asked him about mating that day in the gardens, because he couldn't see his cold-ass of a brother ever taking a mate, just as he'd told her at the time.

When she'd postulated that his sudden-seeming desire to mate her had some other reason, such as a business scheme, he'd allowed himself to brush his knowledge of youkai mating off and agree with her – after all, this was _Sesshoumaru._ He didn't _have_ feelings – and especially not for a human woman. Oh, there was no question that he desired the young miko. The daiyoukai had no problem _bedding_ human women, and Kagome was a beautiful woman.

But what he'd seen tonight... he grinned savagely. Much as he'd never have believed it if someone else was telling him this, there was no denying what he'd seen and heard with his own senses. And impossible as it seemed... Sesshoumaru was in love with a human woman. One who seemingly hated his guts, even if she desired him.

This farce had just gotten a thousand times more interesting... because as sure as he was hanyou, he was absolutely positive that the arrogant bastard was in for one hell of a crash.

Then again... it looked as if the daiyoukai had already gone down, and in flames, no less. If Kagome had been the vengeful type, she'd have already gained all of that commodity that she needed for the past, and all without even realizing it.

_How ironic._

With one last glance at the eerie, fog-laden sky, he turned and went back into his room and quietly slid the door closed. Morning would come all too soon, and he wasn't about to miss out on the fireworks to come.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

“Hey, Yash.”

Inuyasha looked up and a small grin crossed his face. His friend was leaning back against a tree, hands in his pockets and looking like the cat that got the cream.

As usual.

“Yo, Leo. What's got you lookin' like a neko on catnip?”

Leo shrugged. “Bein' a neko on catnip, what else?” he returned with a half-grin.

“Dude, you still haven't managed to get off that stuff?” Inuyasha snorted.

“Why should I? We all have our little obsessions, now _don't_ we, Inuyasha?” he asked in an amused, though slightly snide tone.

“Yeah, yeah,” the hanyou tossed back, waving a dismissive hand at his neko friend.

After a moment the grin fell off Leo's face and he straightened, meeting Inuyasha's gaze seriously. “So now that the gratuitous insults have been taken care of, what did you need me for?”

The inuhanyou sighed and then looked around to make sure no one was lingering nearer than they had any reason to. He didn't want anyone finding out what he was looking into – it could be very dangerous. That was why he'd contacted Leo.

Leo Kojima was a private investigator, and one of the very best – catnip or no. If he wanted to find something out he would, sooner or later. If there _was_ anything to find out in the current situation, and Inuyasha was pretty sure there was, then he'd find it.

“I need you to look into my half-brother's affairs starting about six years ago. Anything and everything – business and personal,” he added as Leo's brow disappeared behind his bangs. “And Muso Ueno, I need anything you can find about him and his vendetta against Sesshoumaru.”

Leo blinked a little sleepily, though he knew his friend wasn't fooled. They'd known each other too long for that. “Muso Ueno... that's a dangerous game, Yash. Your brother's bad enough, but he at least has a sense of honor. Ueno doesn't. Your interest in that direction is very dangerous – for both of us. Mind giving me a little more than that to go on?”

Inuyasha exhaled slowly and then lifted his head into the breeze for a moment, looking into the sky as he acknowledged his friend's words. “I suspect the bastard had a hand in my brother's bout of insanity a few years ago,” he finally admitted in a low tone so that no one but Leo would hear him. “It's important that I find out everything I can about what was going on during that time frame so that I can be certain before I decide what action to take.”

Eyes narrowing, Leo considered what he'd just been told, and then grimaced resignedly. “You had to get interested in both those bastard's affairs, didn't you? If this gets me killed, I swear I'll haunt you forever.”

His words were waved off. “Please. You wouldn't do this if it didn't interest you. You're a cat – you're nosy as hell and interested in everyone's business. It ain't me that's gonna get you killed, it's that damn curiosity of yours that's gonna get you in the end, and you and I both know it.” Then he scoffed. “Well, that or your infernal addiction to catnip. One of these days it's going to cause you to get _caught_ being interested in other people's affairs.”

“Whatever, dog,” Leo chuckled slightly. Then he shook his head. “Fine. It might take a little while, though. You're asking a lot this time and you know it.”

“I know.” He didn't say anything else – there was no need. Both pretty much knew this was going to be a very dangerous undertaking.

But if Leo managed to find proof of Muso's interference, and exactly what he'd done, then he'd give all that information to his brother and sit back and let him take care of the problem. He was almost certain that Sesshoumaru himself suspected something, but he would never take final action until he had proof. He might hate his brother, but blood was still blood, and now there was Kagome to consider. Despite the short amount of time he'd known her, she'd brought out all of his protective inu instincts, and if Ueno had indeed had even a finger in what had happened between her and his brother back then, he would be a much bigger threat to her now. And that above and beyond her little rebuff of the sadistic bastard last night, which only further complicated matters – though it had been quite amusing at the time.

He stepped forward and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. “This is important, Leo. The most important thing I've ever asked from you. I know it might take time, but please – try to be as quick as you can. If I'm right, lives are at stake. _Innocent_ lives.”

Leo watched his friend walk away with a faint, uneasy frown on his face.

~oOo~

Kagome stared out the massive bay windows of her suite, wishing she were anywhere but in Tokyo. She hadn't left the room since the incident last evening in the garage, and if she could she'd stay in there forever to avoid Sesshoumaru.

But unfortunately she knew he wouldn't leave her alone for too long – he only had a little over three weeks left to try to sway her to stay. _So what's he going to try next?_ She scowled. _Besides his overused and overrated 'seduction skills',_ she sniped nastily inside her own mind, really not wanting to face the very big lie that thought really was.

His seduction skills might be overused, but they certainly weren't overrated. The young woman grimaced as the truth that she'd been trying to ignore started poking her pointedly in the back – if Sesshoumaru really put his mind into seducing her she was in trouble, because at least physically, she still wanted him.

She felt almost dirty acknowledging that shameful fact, even just in the back of her mind. For all her disgust of Sesshoumaru's very public peccadilloes, all the pain he had caused her back then and even now... he was still her brand of poison, apparently. She cringed, turning away from the view to take a seat in the comfortable recliner in the little sitting area between the bed and the windows themselves.

 _What is wrong with me?_ she grimaced. _How could I actually enjoy his touch?_ She was seriously beginning to wonder if she was some kind of masochist. Perhaps emotional pain at his metaphorical hands was hardwired into her, or something. Did she have some kind of mental illness or something?

A frustrated sound like a small growl passed her lips. There was little point in flogging herself over her attraction to the beautiful male, because that was simply the truth – he was the most beautiful male she'd ever seen. Most of the female population was attracted to that masculine beauty, as evidenced by the fact that his bed was never empty whenever he decided he wanted female company. So chastising herself over such a thing was just wasted effort – she couldn't control her hormones, unfortunately.

But that didn't mean that she had to give in to that attraction. She'd just have to find something else to focus on – like the satisfaction she was going to feel when the dog found out that she wasn't some little trollop to fall into his bed like all the others. When he found out that she was going to be free of his control oh, so much sooner than he had obviously thought. A nasty little smirk crossed her lips as she imagined his reaction when he finally received the summons to court over the matter – she really hoped she got to see it, despite the danger involved in trying to defeat the bastard on his own ground.

She was well aware that he wouldn't take such a setback lying down, but she wasn't exactly sure what he could do if she did indeed win her money from his control. That was the only hold he had on her. If it weren't for that, she'd have divorced him as soon as she'd gotten her feet under her in Auckland. A frown soon replaced the smirk as she became taken over with trying to figure out what his next move would be if she did indeed win her challenge against his stewardship of her fortune, and those thoughts quickly forced her anger at her continuing attraction to him to the back burner.

As the noonday deepened into afternoon, she sighed and recalled herself to her current reality. She'd thought of several things he might do, but she was also certain that there were many other possible reactions from him once he'd gotten over his initial one of rage at her bold move. The problem was that he was much older than her, of course, and so much more experienced and devious. There was no odds that whatever he chose, it would probably be legal even if only barely, so he could argue that his honor had not been tarnished by his actions were anyone - besides her, anyway - to call him on them.

She knew he wouldn't care if she protested his actions, since she'd been protesting his actions since she'd arrived, and that hadn't phased him in any way. The only thing that seemed to be tickling his temper was that she was denying him at all.

Well, he'd just have to get used to it, she decided with a sniff. Because she wasn't going to give him what he wanted, whatever that really was, and she wasn't going to give herself to him, either.

_You've pissed off the wrong girl this time, Sesshoumaru. If I lose this battle in the end, I'll make sure that at the least I take you down with me._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and she scowled. If it were the bastard currently trying to take over her life then he could just keep knocking. But the possibility that it was someone else had her extending her senses enough to make out the aura of the person at the door, and she grimaced a little as she felt Rin's presence, instead. She really liked the girl, and hated the fact that she was kind of caught in the middle of the little war she was waging with her father.

Unfolding her legs from beneath her she stood reluctantly and made her way to the door to open it, forcing a smile to her face that became a little more genuine at the bright grin on the younger woman's face.

“Hey, Rin. What's up?” she asked, sighing inwardly. She really hoped that Rin didn't get hurt by the crossfire between she and the inuyoukai. If she did, Kagome decided that she'd take that out of Sesshoumaru's hide, as well. After all, it was all his fault this was even happening – she was only defending herself the best she could against the definite aggressor in the current situation.

“Hey, Kagome!” Rin greeted, her expression brightening even further. “I haven't seen you all day, and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I'm fine,” she replied with a rueful shake of her head. “I've just been thinking, and forgot how late it was getting. Did you want to come in?” she asked, stepping back a little in invitation.

But the young woman demurred. “Oh, no, that's okay. Actually, I came up to ask if you wanted to go hang out with me. I'm going to-” she lowered her voice to a whisper and her grin got a playfully wicked tilt to it as she looked each way down the hall to make sure no one was near enough to hear, “- _the mall_.”

That tore a laugh out of Kagome's throat. “Oh, the horror! The _mall_?! What would your father say? And even worse... your grandmother! She would be horrified that _her_ granddaughter was lingering in such a trashy, low-class place!” she played along, gasping as if just as horrified at such an idea.

Rin burst into delighted giggles. “I know, right? I can just imagine her face if she ever found out. So we just won't tell her! You game for it?”

Kagome inclined her head with a wink and a smile. “Sure. Just let me get my wallet and some sunglasses, and I'll be ready to go.”

“Great! I'll meet you downstairs in ten?”

“Sure. How long were you planning to be gone?”

“A few hours, nothing drastic,” Rin replied as she turned and headed down the hall with a wave.

“Alright then,” Kagome acknowledged as she stepped back into her room. “See you in a couple!”

Unnoticed by either female, Sesshoumaru stepped out of the alcove he'd hidden in when he'd seen his daughter approaching Kagome's door, deciding that letting her drag his recalcitrant wife out of her attempt to sequester herself in her rooms was a better idea than him attempting to do the dragging. At the least it would give her a little more time to get over her fury at what had happened between them last night, and that could only be good thing.

It was a very _difficult_ thing for him to do however, since all he wanted was to hit her hard and fast, keeping the pressure on until she was simply overwhelmed by him. That was his feral side talking, of course. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy. Kagome was proving with every exchange that she had claws she once hadn't – and was more than willing to use them quite fiercely to fight him off. So it was better to let her alone for now – at least until she'd cooled down some, and then he'd press her again. There was a certain slow and steady pace he'd have to take things at with her that really frustrated him, but there simply was no other choice. There was no room for mistakes in this situation, because he was playing for keeps now... in a way he never had before with any other woman in his near millennium of life.

With an inward, tension-filled sigh, he faded back down the hall in the opposite direction of his daughter, deciding that maybe he needed a good, stiff drink to help calm his instincts frustrated howling.

At this point, it couldn't hurt.

~oOo~

“So... tell me about the guys down there in Auckland,” Rin grinned as she sat down at a small table in the food court. It had been an entirely enjoyable last few hours as she and Kagome had gossiped their way from one end of the mall to the other, with a few interruptions for actual shopping thrown in for variation. Now it was time to continue the gossiping. (Although, to be honest, she'd had a purpose for all the talking – and it was time to get around to that purpose.)

Kagome blinked. “Uh, what about them?” she asked blankly, not understanding what Rin was asking.

The younger girl rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Kagome! The guys down there – what are they like? And please, be descriptive,” she added in a low, slightly naughty tone that finally clued Kagome in to what she wanted.

Surprised, her expression became a little incredulous, and then she blushed a little. “Rin!” she whispered as she put a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened. “ _Really_?!” she squeaked. “ _That's_ what you want to know about?”

“Well, why not? I think some of those caucasian guys are pretty hot, you know? And it's not like I'm a little girl anymore, Kagome. I'm perfectly of age to be thinking about guys,” she grinned, “and even more than just thinking, now aren't I?”

“Oh, my god,” Kagome giggled as her eyes darted almost nervously around, “does your father know about this-” she waved a hand, her cheeks flushing again, “-this... well, _this_?”

Rin cracked up. “Kagome,” she gasped, “you sound like a thirteen year-old! Of course my father knows. He's well aware of how old I am. I'm sure such a topic would not please him, but that's just an overprotective father thing,” she shrugged as her laughter finally slowed.

The older woman inclined her head, her blush fading as she chuckled softly. “I suppose,” she agreed finally, shaking her head again as her eyes dropped. Just a few years could make such a difference, she decided. _Look at me._ Her smile faded.

“So...?”

Kagome looked back up at her friend. “I... I don't know what you want me to say,” she finally shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable now. “Like guys everywhere else, I guess? I can't really tell you. I work too hard to bother to play much.”

_And besides... I don't intend to trust another male anywhere near my heart. I don't need a man, and at least right now I don't want one. Maybe that last part will change someday, but for now I'm better off alone. And happier, too._

Unbeknownst to her, Rin had been fishing for just that answer. She'd already figured that Kagome hadn't really even looked at another male since she'd fled Tokyo, with how badly she'd been affected by her father's foolish behavior. The younger woman wasn't stupid, and she hadn't been five years ago, either. She'd known quite well that Kagome had been bowled over by her father and in love with him when they'd first arrived at the mansion the day of their marriage. He'd really crippled himself this time, though.

His behavior back then had been so atrocious, unconscionable really – and also highly unusual. Unusual enough to make her curious as to _why_ he'd suddenly gone so crazy. With the things he'd told her – and more importantly, the things he _hadn't_ told her - the other day during their conversation in the gardens though, she was pretty certain that a great deal of his lack of control had been instigated by another. There _were_ ways to influence a youkai, even powerful ones like her father - for those who knew where to look. Dark ways.

She was still surprised though, when she thought back to just _how_ driven he'd been. Her father had always held himself under such rigid control that he'd almost become invulnerable. The key word here was 'almost', as had been proven to her satisfaction by his words and manner the other day. That was the only reason she was agreeing to help her father try to regain Kagome's heart. Well, that and the fact that if he didn't and she 'got away', he would be doomed to wither away alone for a youkai's possibly-eternal life-span. Much as she disapproved of what had gone on five years ago and empathized deeply with Kagome's pain, she didn't believe that his past actions, especially had there been interference by some other party, deserved _that_.

After all, hadn't Kagome been the one to tell her once that, quote unquote, 'everyone deserved a second chance'? And that would include her sometimes exasperating father. Yes, exasperating. She loved him, but he still managed to aggravate the hell out of her at times, though she would never tell anyone that.

_Let me just make sure..._

“Really, Kagome?” she asked, giving her a dubious look. “You haven't gone out with or even just _noticed_ one guy in the past five years that you could tell me about?”

The older woman's expression grew closed and she shook her head. “No. Like I said, I just don't have the time for something like that.” And then she looked a little uncomfortable again. “Besides,” she finished seemingly-unwillingly, “I'm technically still married to your father, you know. Just because he doesn't see any problem with breaking marriage vows, I'm not going to be the same. So, no... no other men.”

Rin sobered at that and she sighed, though she was glad that the other girl wasn't currently seeing someone, and hadn't, either. It would make things a little easier. “I'm sorry, Kagome. I know my father was more than a jerk to you. I... was really surprised at how he was acting back then.” Her eyes went very far away for a moment. “I'd never seen him so out-of-control, you know? Suddenly, it was like a stranger was inhabiting his body. I mean, of course he'd had discreet encounters with other women, that's completely normal for most guys, whether they're human or youkai-”

Kagome interrupted before she could go any further. “Rin, look, it's okay. The problems between me and your father are between he and I. They don't affect how I see you or anything. But I really don't want to talk about this. What's done is done, and there's just no point in going back over it all.”

“Isn't there? Kagome,” the girl began gently yet earnestly, “its so very obvious that there's something there between you and father. I-”

She was cut off again. “Please stop,” Kagome said firmly. “There isn't anything there between us but a lot of anger on my part, and whatever the reason that he's decided he needs to appear a happily married man right at this juncture in his life. Since we're technically married, he figured I'd would work well enough for him. But when whatever that reason is disappears, so to would I – he'd waste no time in sending me packing again, I've no doubt. Don't start hoping that I'm back permanently, because you'll just be disappointed.”

The younger girl shook her head, her expression now solemn. “You're wrong about his reasons, Kagome. And besides that... aren't you the one that told me that _everyone_ deserves a second chance?” she asked softly, her eyes meeting the other woman's and suddenly seeming far older and even knowing than they had any right to be. “So are you telling me that everyone _but_ father deserves a second chance... deserves the possibility of forgiveness?”

Spluttering, Kagome suddenly felt like the rug had been yanked out from under her. _I... I did tell her that. And I meant it. But... No._ She shook her head, then. No, she was right. Everyone _did_ deserve a second chance... if they asked for one. If they apologized for the harm they'd caused. But Sesshoumaru never had. And she wouldn't have believed it even if he had, because Sesshoumaru was never sorry for anything he did. And besides... there weren't any rules that said _how_ that second chance had to be played out. So _if_ Sesshoumaru ever actually _asked_ for forgiveness and a second chance (that was never going to happen, of course) then she would give him a very cautious one... but only as a – distant, very distant – friend. One that you talked to sometimes, but not one you really trusted. Friendly acquaintances, and that was all.

Breaking her contemplative glare at the table, Kagome looked up at Rin. “I understand what you're saying. But a person first has to acknowledge that they wronged someone and _ask_ for forgiveness before that second-chance can be given, and your father never has. There's no odds he never will, either. Why should he?” she asked with a cynical-seeming Gallic half-shrug. “He probably doesn't think anything he did back then was wrong. And besides... like I said, it's not like your father really wants a wife. He just needs one right now for some reason I have yet to figure out.”

Rin continued to look at her with those penetrating eyes, though she didn't react to her last statements. “Fair enough. I know he should pretty much be down on his knees begging for your forgiveness – I'd make him do that if I were in your shoes and someone had done all that to me. I'd probably draw a little blood for the trespass, too,” she grinned impishly, “but then, I'm youkai, so that's no surprise. Just think about it, Kagome,” she added as the other woman started to open her mouth. “We don't have to talk about it anymore.”

Reluctant to let the girl think that there would ever be any sort of rapprochement between she and the inuyoukai, she nonetheless nodded. If it would keep the topic from coming up again between them, then she could let it go.

“Great!” Rin squealed, clapping her hands happily. “So then, let's talk about something else. Tell me what it's like living so far away from Japan, about the scenery – I've heard it's so very beautiful there!”

The surprised woman blinked at her younger friend, but then allowed herself to be drawn back into the now easy discussion that Rin was instigating. There was no point in worrying over the matter anymore. It occurred to her that the younger woman had been affected by what had happened between she and Sesshoumaru, too, back then. If this was the way she'd dealt with her concerns, by talking to her, then despite Kagome's dislike for going over it all again, that was okay. She'd live, and there was no permanent harm done.

Hopefully, that was all over now, and she could relax with the younger girl and just enjoy her company.

~oOo~

Sesshoumaru sat back in his darkened study and stared out the window thoughtfully, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he considered the information that his investigator had found. The male was on retainer, which was a fortunate thing in this situation, as it allowed him to be available at all times for whatever the daiyoukai needed him for.

In this situation, that was going to be invaluable.

So Ueno was going to attend the Yamaguchi function next week. Originally he hadn't planned to attend, but something had changed. He frowned. Despite what he'd thought when first informed, Ueno's sudden determination to attend a function he normally would have avoided like the plague hadn't happened _after_ he'd met Kagome yesterday and she'd snubbed him so publicly.

No... it had happened before that. So that meant that whatever the bastard was planning, it would be focused on him. And that fact made him deeply leery. Not that he was afraid of that hanyou, but he certainly _was_ afraid of what the fool's suspected interference could end up causing this time. Would he try to use the same dark magic on him that Sesshoumaru was almost certain he had the last time? More to the point, what was the evil, dark hanyou's specific goal here? To cause him trouble, there was no doubt of that, but why had he used the specific form of black magic that he had?

Ueno was a business rival. And though Sesshoumaru was positive the hanyou would enjoy anything that caused him discomfiture, why had he targeted that _particular_ aspect of his life? It wasn't possible that the hanyou could have known just what Kagome was to him, even after he'd married her with no warning as he had. No one had known but he, himself. And perhaps his mother had learned due to his very-telling behavior, but... his jaw tightened as he considered an option that had never occurred to him before.

Had his mother betrayed him?

He scowled darkly as that particular possibility answered quite a few of his questions. It made sense. If his mother, in her rage at his marriage to the young miko, had gone and spilled what his actions in marrying her as he had, as well as his personal reactions to the young woman meant to an inuyoukai, then...

Then Ueno would have gleefully used such a tactic against him with no care for anyone else or the danger such spells would have caused all those around him – and especially the woman he...

 _Damn,_ he swore inwardly, his lips peeling back from his teeth in a savage, silent snarl. And now the danger was heightened even further by Kagome's casual dismissal of such a dangerous foe as Ueno. Despite her reiki she was still vulnerable, despite what she might think.

And no matter her seeming-revulsion for him, he wouldn't allow anyone to ever harm her... even if that ended up causing his own death. He would give his life, anything he had to save her. It didn't even matter if she did end up divorcing him – he would protect her forever from the edges of her life, though the very idea of spending the rest of his life forever in the shadows of hers hurt more than anything even hell could throw at him.

Sometimes he really hated being inuyoukai. Things would be so very different if he could escape the demands of his nature and exist only at the mercy of his own whims as humans did, instead of the fire in his blood and the burning of his mind, the calls of instinct always fighting against his rigidly-held control. Day in and day out, every second of every day, a youkai fought to keep himself from reverting to his true nature and instead play along in the human-dominated world the modern day was. But if he could have ignored his own nature, he wouldn't have lost himself in his entirety to the little human woman he desired with every beat of his heart.

The woman he... his mind fought against acknowledging the fact once again, almost angered at his helpless need for her. His youkai-driven need. But whether it _should_ have angered him or not that was really just a peripheral reaction, something that he no longer truly _felt_. It was a hollow anger, a conceptual frustration that had no true hold on him anymore.

Yes, he'd fallen. Fallen hard. Because the truth was that he _loved_ the woman he was married to, loved her in the way that only youkai could – with a desperate intensity that would never abate.

And so he sat in a darkened room and looked for every possibility to protect her against what he was deathly certain was coming, because Ueno would never give up unless he was dead. Laws being what they were, Sesshoumaru could not act against him until he had irrefutable proof that the bastard had been the cause of what had happened with him those five years ago, inarguable evidence that he was a direct threat to Kagome now.

 _If_ he managed to get any of that proof, though... then he could destroy his most-hated enemy down to the smallest molecule, and no one would be able to say a damn thing about it.

He would simply be protecting what was his, and no youkai or even human court could convict him for that.

A deeper scowl than any that had yet crossed his face did, then – and his eyes darkened to a deep shade of burgundy as he felt his mother's youki touch against his around the edges. The bitch was sulking somewhere around the house, as she had been since the moment Kagome had arrived.

If she'd had any hand in what had happened after his marriage to the young miko... then he wouldn't hesitate. He'd take her down just as hard as he would Ueno – maybe even harder. After all, she was family, despite her dislike of his chosen. If she'd betrayed her own blood...

His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist, and he didn't even feel it as his claws sliced into his own palms and began to drip to the floor.

Deciding it was time for a face-to-face confrontation with his mother, especially as Rin and Kagome were out of the house, he stood and left his study, striding swiftly towards her petulant aura.

His blood soaked into the carpet behind him, unnoticed and unmourned...

Or it should have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And I've finally gotten this chapter finished! I'm sorry to the readers for the delay – for a while this story just wasn't working with me. That's always so frustrating to a writer, when they can't get their own mind to cooperate with them. Ugh. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Amber


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Dying light streamed into a room that was set high above most of the Tokyo skyline – a top-floor condo that took up the entire 60th floor. The whole space was filled with softly-colored furnishings, every room airy and open. It was not a place most would think of to look for a dark miko.

But it was the home of the most powerful kuromiko known in Japan.

Of course, most of the population didn't know just what she was, no... only a relatively small, select group of youkai knew. And those knew because they had no qualms utilizing her particular talents whenever they felt they needed to. They were willing to pay handsomely for those talents, and her silence besides – which was why she was able to live as she did.

Mishi reclined languidly on her comfortable settee, a slight smile on her lips as she faced her current guest.

“So tell me, Muso-sama, what is it you wish from me this time? I haven't seen you in some while. I thought you had abandoned me,” she said blandly, keeping her tone light. She had no wish to antagonize this particular male.

Muso studied the woman lounging across from him draped in brilliantly toned clothes that offset the paler colors of her abode nicely, almost highlighting her vivid beauty. But he wasn't fooled by the seeming innocence she almost exuded – she was extremely dangerous.

Nonetheless, he wasn't afraid. No one was more dangerous than he, himself was, so he felt no need to be intimidated by anyone else. She was simply a means to an end, and if he ever felt that she would never serve any other purpose for him and so was no longer useful, he would kill her and be done with it.

“Hardly,” he finally returned blandly. “As to what I need from you... the same thing I needed from you five years ago. Sesshoumaru's weakness has returned, and now I can finish what was started then.”

The woman blinked slowly at him as she considered his words. _So it's time, then, is it?_ she thought cynically. Muso Ueno had a serious hatred for the well-known daiyoukai, one that she was almost positive went much, much deeper than just whatever business losses he'd suffered at the other male's hands over the centuries.

“I see,” she finally replied. She looked out her windows at the fantastic view thoughtfully for a few moments, and then finished, “I will have the needed object ready for you in five days.”

“That is acceptable. I will have my courier contact you on the fifth day hence, then.”

Her small smile widened just a bit, becoming a little sharper than it had been just a moment ago. “This is going to cost you, however, you know this, correct? The cost of everything has gone up,” she shrugged coyly when he narrowed his eyes just slightly on her. “The price of the ingredients for what you are asking have also done so, and I need the highest quality to work with if you wish my efforts to be worth your time.”

Sighing inwardly, Muso gave a short, curt incline of his head in response. He really couldn't deny that, or even blame it on her, so there was no point in haggling over cost. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford it, after all.

“Do it,” he said with a lazy wave of one hand. And then his expression changed just slightly, a lascivious glint in his eyes that the woman across from him had no difficulty in picking up on. “On another topic,” he continued leadingly, “I find that I'm currently in the mood for a rather different commodity from you.”

Wicked eyes darkened as Mishi stood to her feet slowly, her motions seductive. She didn't like Muso by any means, but he was a handsome male and a very good lover, as she already knew, so she had no problem with taking him into her bed whenever he showed an interest.

“Then come, Muso,” she purred as she slinked across the room to take him by the hand and draw him up, her odd, claret-colored eyes sparkling. As his smirk widened she tugged him in the direction of her bedroom suite, and the dark-haired, sleek bodied woman shivered with need as the doors slid closed behind them.

For such an evil bastard, Muso really _was_ an excellent lover. Too bad eventually she would have to kill him off – before he killed her.

~oOo~

Sighing tiredly, Kagome shut the door of her room with her foot, dropping her few small bags to the floor and kicking her shoes off. She dragged herself over to her bed and flopped back on it, simply beat.

While she'd spent most of her day right here in her own room not doing anything but thinking and silently cursing Sesshoumaru, the few hours she'd spent at the mall with an energetic Rin had worn her out. Mostly that was because her personal battle with the daiyoukai and all the stress it was causing her was slowly wearing on her. And then when Rin had decided to get involved, cornering her at the food court and bringing up that least favored of subjects, she'd wanted to just get up right then and go right back to brooding in her room.

Reaching up, she slowly massaged her temples, trying to fight off her frustration enough to relax so she could attempt to get some sleep. She couldn't afford to be suffering from exhaustion at this point in time – that would only give Sesshoumaru yet another edge over her, and she _really_ didn't need that. _He_ really didn't need another edge on her, either – he already had too damn many as it was.

She scowled, her eyes falling closed as her expression darkened. The most frustrating part was that she was the one trying to play catch up, because he was already so far ahead of her in this game that he had instigated between them. Not that it was a game to her, but she was pretty sure this whole thing wasn't much more than that to that bastard. The problem was that she wasn't really much of a schemer. She didn't play games like this, didn't try to dance around people and manipulate them. To her, the idea was usually an unconscionable one, not something she would normally get involved with.

With a resigned sigh her hands dropped back to the bed as her head throbbed tensely. _Just what I needed – a tension headache. Gods, I hope it doesn't turn into a migraine._

That probably wasn't her luck, though, so she finally prodded herself into motion, rising reluctantly from the bed and going into the attached bath suite to rummage through her little medicine bag. She'd started suffering from migraines occasionally after moving to Auckland, so she had eventually gone to a doctor about the problem and had been given something for them.

Locating the correct bottle stuffed in the small bag along with vitamins and some naproxen, as well, she retrieved a pill and then ducked into the walk-in closet, where there was a small mini-fridge that had been stocked with assorted drinks after her arrival, and got out a bottle of juice to take her pill with.

Once finished with that, she slipped into a silky chemise and then traced her steps back to her bed, turning out lights as she went. She was ready to call it a night, though it was still relatively early at seven in the evening. Still, she just couldn't stand the idea of staying up, and just wanted to roll herself under the covers and fall into sleep after pushing all her current problems off of a convenient mental cliff.

Unfortunately, she huffed with irritation almost an hour later, sleep wasn't being cooperative, and all she could do was toss and turn as her mind continued to run with thoughts of Sesshoumaru and the situation she was in. Rin hadn't really helped matters with the discussion they'd had earlier at the mall, and finally, with a growl of ever-deepening aggravation she sat up, ready to pull her hair out by the roots.

“Ugh! Why can't I stop thinking about this even for a few damn hours so I can sleep?!” she yelled into the heavy silence of her room. “I swear to the kami I'm going to end up killing the bastard just to get it all over with!”

 _Hmm... kill Sesshoumaru... why does it have to be illegal to kill people?_ Sometimes they really needed killing, and the evil, evil bastard she was still unfortunately married to was a perfect example of this. _Really, it would be a much neater solution than a lot of court dates and contested divorce proceedings,_ she sulked, folding her arms across her chest disgruntledly and glaring at the shadows and light on the opposite wall of her room. _Less time consuming, too._ Her glare deepened.

Truthfully, she knew she was acting petty at the moment, even going so far as to mentally review various cruel, mean-spirited messages to leave on his epitaph. But at the moment it felt good to be petty and nasty, and since it was all inside her own mind, and she knew full well that she would never really kill anyone, even Sesshoumaru, she decided to indulge that corner of her soul that felt like being a bratty little bitch.

She went right on indulging that side for some time, finally working herself around from frustrated anger to giggling amusement at some of her more far-out mental imaginings. Like reaching down the next time he decided to try to manhandle her and purifying the first thing she found. That particular scene still playing inside her mind was what currently had her giggling, imagining his horror at losing his 'friend'. She snorted. With the way he'd indulged that 'friend' over the years since she'd been married off to him, it probably needed to be purified – who knew what diseases he might have been exposed to? And though she knew that it didn't work that way, that being youkai, and daiyoukai besides preempted anything like him getting some disease from all those other women, it was still a funny thought.

All that aside, her limited bout with mental insanity did have the effect of greatly lessening the tension she'd been under, and that was most definitely a good thing in her books. Heavens knew she needed to be awake and fully in control of all her faculties in order to deal satisfactorily with this situation. However, that apparently didn't necessarily mean that there would be any sleep in her near future, as she still couldn't seem to fall asleep.

Finally, she crawled back out of the bed and wandered out onto her balcony, enjoying the night-time view she was afforded from it and letting the quiet of the evening lull her senses. She took a seat on one of the comfortable chairs scattered about the private patio and let her mind wander back to her current impasse with Sesshoumaru.

 _Current and future impasse,_ she harrumphed to herself. _Because he'll never let it go._ No... she'd probably be dealing with his particular foibles for the rest of her life, either at first or second hand. While she'd much rather second-hand, she was realistic enough to know that wouldn't come easy, or soon. _No_ , she sighed, _it will definitely be first-hand for the foreseeable future._

The odds were greatly in her favor, however, that she would win this particular little war that he'd started. With what Kouga had found in her father's will and her excellent business acumen to take to the judge as proof of her capabilities to handle her finances herself, there was little that Sesshoumaru would be able to do to keep his claws embedded in her life as he had for so long now. And after her money was freed of his control by court order, it wouldn't be long before she was freed of him by law, as well, once her divorce decree was signed. Then she would get on a plane back to Auckland and pick up her life there right where she'd left off, and her _ex-_ husband could drop off the face of the earth and she would never even have to know.

She was pretty sure that he had several irons in the fire when it came to getting her to agree to whatever it was he was really after. That was Sesshoumaru all over – if one plan didn't work, he always had another to fall back on. But she was one hundred percent certain that he had no idea of her coming feint in the battle, and there was no way he could be prepared for it. He would be laid out flat by what was coming, and no matter which way she looked at it, she couldn't find any way for him to counter what she'd done. The only thing that could defeat her now would be if the judge's determination wasn't in her favor.

Well, okay... she could lose if Sesshoumaru tried to bribe the judge and he took it, of course, but what were the chances of that, really? Very low, though she couldn't discount it completely now that she'd thought about it. She didn't know the judge mentioned by Kouga, nor his reputation. Maybe he did take bribes... he wouldn't be the first official to do so, nor would he be the last. Still, the chances of that were minimal, at best.

Leaning back in her seat, she closed her eyes and inhaled the cool breeze, then let it out, suddenly feeling every bit of her weariness. _Time for bed, finally,_ she sighed with relief, climbing to her feet and heading for the bed. _Still,_ she thought as her eyes began to inch closed slowly as she faded into sleep, _perhaps I should call Kouga tomorrow and bring this up to him, see what he says. He'd know what kind of rep this judge has and be able to let me know just how possible something underhanded like that is._

_It needs no saying that_ _ Sesshoumaru _ _is_ _ perfectly _ _capable of being that underhanded..._

That thought followed her down into darkness and was promptly forgotten... for the moment.

~oOo~

Downstairs, in the dark and quiet of the house, a small shadow flitted down a long hallway to the door at the end of it, and after looking back furtively, slid the door open as silently as a mouse and slipped inside the room hidden behind it.

The small figure snuffled in the air, her tiny nose twitching as she took in the scent of blood in the room. It didn't take two seconds for her to scurry over to a particular spot, and her eyes flared redly for one moment, illuminating her for just a few seconds before fading. It was just enough to show the servant's uniform she wore, though the empty look in her eyes once the glow was gone would not be noticed by anyone.

It was too late, regardless. Because in those few seconds, little hands had made a few arcane movements accompanied by a whispered, dead-sounding voice chanting, causing the blood that had been spilled in that room earlier by the master of the house to lift out of the carpet and turn to red dust, which she then inhaled. Once every last bit of the dust was gone, the maid disappeared back out of the room, the rest of the house all unknowing, and then she herself also vanished.

The deed was now done, and Mishi was quite pleased with just how easy that had been.

Sesshoumaru's blood was once again in her hands, and she hadn't had to wait to extract it with some ploy from her puppet servant at all.

That just made everything all the quicker.

~oOo~

The smell of coffee, tea, and delicious breakfast pastries greeted Kagome the next morning as she entered the dining room, along with more traditional breakfast items that also smelled incredible. After all her angst yesterday she was terribly hungry and didn't even try to hide that fact, picking up a plate from the sideboard and filling it with whatever took her fancy before taking a seat at the table.

So far she was the only one in the room, but she could feel the aura's of the others in the mansion and knew that they were all making their way in her direction. Within a very few minutes she was joined by the rest of the household. While Rin and Inuyasa's presences were welcome, Sesshoumaru and his mother were most certainly not, and the differing looks both shot her were _most_ unwelcome.

She never got the chance to say anything to either of them about the matter, however, because a low growl halted whatever she could have said. Kagome blinked; it seemed that the daiyoukai's mother had been about to speak, as well, and his very unfriendly sound stopped her in her tracks. The room fell quiet as everyone stared at him.

“Silence, mother,” he snapped in a low, icy voice. “I warned you. Keep your snide comments and sarcastic shots to yourself, or find somewhere else to live.”

Satori snarled, her eyes narrowing angrily. “You wouldn't know what to do without me, just as you didn't after Kagura died!”

A dark cast over his face, Sesshoumaru glared at her for her offense – speaking of Kagura in front of Kagome. And then his features darkened even further. “Let me assure you, mother – I would have had no problem 'being without you' as you say, after Kagura died. As well, you would not be missed now. If you force me to speak of this matter again, or your attitude towards my wife, I will throw you out myself.”

Kagome watched the verbal byplay between the two, aghast at what they were saying – and in front of Rin! After all, Kagura was the girl's mother, and to hear these things being so casually and cavalierly spoken of in front of her was absolutely astounding. How could they do that to the young woman? And then she scowled as she took in the inu's last unwelcome words.

“Don't use me as an excuse to throw your mother out, Sesshoumaru. And stop calling me your wife,” she added almost pugnaciously. “We all know I'm really not.”

Sesshoumaru's jaw tightened as she denied him yet again. “And yet the law says that you are. Enough!” he growled as she opened her mouth to answer him, Rin also snapping her mouth shut at her father's command. “This conversation is over. Everyone in this room will sit down to eat and there will be no more speaking until we are all finished, am I clear?”

Inuyasha just shrugged his shoulders as he sat down with a full plate. “Whatever,” he tossed back carelessly with an evil smirk and laughing eyes, refusing to let the daiyoukai have the last word.

His brother curled his lip at him but said nothing in reprimand – there was little point, so he would let it go, for now. Later, perhaps...

Everyone else followed his instructions, and the room fell into silence as each person gathered their desired breakfast items and sat down to eat.

Not wanting to stick around and listen to Sesshoumaru giving orders and threats and Satori verbally denigrating her son and everyone else, Kagome finished her meal as quickly as politely possible and then stood to leave the room.

She was halted by his voice. “Where are you running off to?”

Stiffening, she turned and glared at him over her shoulder. “I have some phone calls to make, not that it's any of your business. And since they are _private_ , I am going where other people are not so that I may discuss what business I may with who I choose – and _only_ who I choose.”

With that she walked out, leaving him gritting his teeth behind her, though he was careful to let no one else see his ire. _Do not forget, miko... you are my business, and so is anything to do with you. You aren't allowed to have secrets from me._

His mother was the next to rise, and she said not a word as she made her way out, which suited Sesshoumaru just fine. Unfortunately, that left Inuyasha in the room with him, his stench only mitigated for the moment by his daughter's continuing presence. _Hn._ He growled silently and stood to leave the room as well.

“Rin, when you are finished I wish to speak with you. I will await you in my study.” With that he disappeared.

The two left behind looked at each other blankly.

“Wow. I wonder what got under all their skins this morning already,” Rin said blankly as she finished her breakfast.

Inuyasha laughed. “ _They_ got under each others skins this morning, that's what.”

“I guess so.” The young woman got up at just about the same time as her uncle. “I suppose I'd better go find out what father wants,” she said, “before he comes looking. He doesn't seem to have much patience today.”

“Does he ever?” the hanyou snorted.

The question was sarcastically rhetorical, so she didn't respond with more than a sigh as she headed for her father's study. Her brow furrowed lightly as she pondered on what he could wish to discuss with her. And in his study, no less. She had rarely ever really been inside that particular room, because always before, if her father wanted to talk to her he did it wherever they happened to be at the time. It was odd that he was now wishing privacy for their talk, because that could be the only reason for him to demand that their discussion take place in his study, where he could keep everyone _elses_ noses out of his business.

That most likely meant that he wanted to discuss Kagome with her, because there was simply no other reason there could be. She shook her head. _At this rate, father, you should have given her two months here instead of one. I think you were being really optimistic...or maybe just egotistical, _she huffed softly with affectionate disdain for her sire's often caustic and unrelenting arrogance.

 _You've definitely overreached yourself this time, outo-sama. Kagome's going to practically need to be persuaded that you're not even the same person as the male she married five years ago – and maybe even that he was an impostor and you're the real thing, _she giggled. She couldn't help it. She knew the subject of her father and Kagome was a serious one. Being youkai and half inu-youkai besides, she knew full well just _how_ serious. But despite that, she still felt that he needed to be laughed at over the mess he'd made of this one. He needed to be made to beg, and even though she really hoped that he managed to get Kagome back and keep her, she also equally hoped that the older girl made her father plead his case. _Plead_ being the operative word. Even if someone else had interfered, as she suspected, it still needed to happen, because the young miko had almost been destroyed by what had been done to her – and it was her father's place to answer for that.

Of course, a lot of that had also been the nitwits that made up 'upper-class Tokyo society' being their normal backstabbing, arrogant, and vicious selves. And those people, well, she'd love to see them all absolutely leveled, too. _Oh, well,_ she finally sighed as she came to a stop outside his study door.

She raised a hand to knock, and then narrowed her eyes with slight annoyance at his voice beckoning her inside before she could actually do so.

“Come, Rin.”

Discreetly rolling her eyes just before she slid open the door, the young woman promptly closed it behind her and moved to sit in the chair before his desk. With a bright smile, she asked, “Yes, father? You needed me for something?”

The daiyoukai studied his daughter for a few in silence as he sat back, placing all his thoughts in order. “You spent several hours with Kagome yesterday,” he eventually stated. “Of what did you speak?”

Rin blinked. “Many things, father,” she said with an innocent grin that he immediately distrusted. “Why?”

He frowned sternly. “ _Rin.”_

She giggled. “Oh, fine, father. Yes, we talked about you.” She stopped, and he forced himself not to give away his frustration with her recalcitrance.

“And?” he asked evenly.

“You've got a lot of work to do,” she replied, amusement fairly spilling from her now, to his displeasure. “Did I say a lot? Actually, I meant way more than a lot. _Way_ more.”

Secretly pleased with how nervous her father suddenly seemed, though no one who didn't know him would ever have guessed, Rin continued smiling agreeably at him as she waited for whatever was coming next.

“Did she say anything specific about our situation?” he prodded impatiently.

The young woman turned that over in her mind. After a few seconds she shook her head. “Not really. But she's very averse to speaking of you at all. You practically have to drag anything about this out of her.” She felt her sire's aura spike with concern even more, and finally decided to leave off deliberately torturing him about it. She sat back in her seat and her face lost it's amusement.

“I did manage to make her think about things, though. I pointed out her own beliefs on forgiveness and second chances. She was rather discomfited over the matter, but she did listen. I don't think she's really thinking about forgiving you at this point, but at least the idea has been planted. If you ever bother to apologize, that is.”

Sesshoumaru's eyes dropped and his lips tightened, and he sighed inwardly. _Yes, I seem to have rather doomed myself, haven't I?_ He looked up and nodded. “Thank you for your words to her.”

Knowing a dismissal when she heard one, she nodded and got to her feet. “You're welcome, father.” She hesitated, then said, “All hope isn't lost. She wouldn't still get so angry at you if she didn't continue to have at least some attraction to you, you know.”

With a slight nod in his daughter's direction, the inuyoukai's eyes dilated as he lost himself in thoughts of just how to work his way back onto solid, safe ground with his wife.

He also hadn't forgotten his suspicions about his mother and the part she may well have played in what had taken place those five years ago.

His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at that.

_I believe I need to have another 'interview' today..._


End file.
